PROBLEMS  IN 
MODERN  EDUCATION 

ADDRESSES  AND  ESSAYS 


BY 
WILLIAM  SENECA  SUTTON 

Dean  of  the  Department  of  Education  and  Professor 

of  Educational  Administration  in 

The  University  of  Texas 


BOSTON 

SHERMAN,  FRENCH  &  COMPANY 
1913 


U-      : 


COPYRIGHT,  1913 
SHERMAN,  FRENCH  &  COMPANY 


FOREWORD 

This  volume  is  composed  of  some  of  the  essays 
and  addresses  which,  in  spite  of  the  many  exact- 
ing duties  of  a  busy  professional  life,  I  have 
found  time  to  prepare.  All  but  four  of  the  pa- 
pers here  brought  together  were  delivered  before 
Texas  audiences,  two  of  the  exceptions  being 
written  for  national  educational  societies,  the 
third  for  the  Association  of  Southern  Colleges 
and  Preparatory  Schools,  and  the  fourth  for  the 
Southern  Educational  Association. 

The  essays  and  addresses  were,  in  each  in- 
stance, born  of  a  desire  to  meet  the  demands  of  a 
practical  situation;  and  were,  therefore,  con- 
cerned, not  so  much  with  the  presentation  of  ab- 
stract ideals,  as  with  the  application  of  well- 
recognized  educational  principles  to  the  solution 
of  school  problems  that  abound  in  our  day.  If 
there  be  a  unifying  principle  in  the  several  dis- 
cussions, it  is  that  of  concrete  idealism,  which  is 
the  controlling,  characteristic  attribute  of  human 
evolution,  and  which  insists  upon  the  wisdom  and 
necessity  of  reckoning  with  environment  in  order 
to  obtain  desirable  results. 

THE  AUTHOB. 
The  University  of  Texas. 


266943 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

I  THE  ATTITUDE  OF  THE  MAN  OF  SCI- 
ENCE TOWARD  EDUCATIONAL  CRITI- 
CISM   1 

II  SOME  CONTRIBUTIONS  OF  THE  NINE- 
TEENTH CENTURY  TO  EDUCATIONAL 
PROGRESS 17 

III  HERBERT  SPENCER'S  INDIVIDUALITY 
AS  MANIFESTED  IN  His  EDUCA- 
TIONAL THINKING 38 

IV  THE  DETERMINING  FACTORS  OF  THE 
CURRICULUM  OF  THE  SECONDARY 
SCHOOL 48 

V  THE  UNIFICATION  OF  COLLEGE  DE- 
GREES   71 

VI  THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  DEPART- 
MENT OF  EDUCATION  IN  COLLEGES 
AND  UNIVERSITIES 100 

VII  CONTRIBUTIONS  OF  WILLIAM  TORREY 
HARRIS  TO  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF 
EDUCATION  IN  AMERICA  .  .  .  140 

VIII  THE  CLUB  WOMAN  AND  THE  DEVEL- 
OPMENT OF  EDUCATIONAL  PUBLIC 
OPINION  .  .  154 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

IX     THE    EDUCATION    OF    THE    MODERN 

WOMAN 166 

X  THE  SIGNIFICANCE  OF  CHRISTIAN 
EDUCATION  IN  THE  TWENTIETH 
CENTURY 189 

XI  SOME  FUNDAMENTAL,  EDUCATIONAL 
PRINCIPLES  APPLIED  TO  THE  WORK 
OF  THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  .  .  .  211 

XII     THE  EDUCATION  OF  THE  SOUTHERN 

NEGRO 228 

APPENDIX    .     ...    ...     ...     ...     ...     ...     .   253 


PROBLEMS  IN  MODERN  EDUCATION 


THE  ATTITUDE  OF  THE  MAN  OF 
SCIENCE    TOWARD    EDUCA- 
TIONAL CRITICISM  1 

These  are  lively  times  in  which  we  live.  The 
unanimity  of  opinion  that  obtained  among  our 
forebears  in  the  savage  or  the  barbarian  stage 
of  culture  has  gone  apparently  forever.  Politi- 
cal, industrial,  social,  and  religious  insurgents  are 
found  on  every  hand,  and  they  are  filling  the  earth 
with  their  raucous  voices.  In  the  world  of  educa- 
tion, also,  there  is  great  unfest.  Critics,  lay  and 
professional,  many  of  them  uninformed,  many 
others  misinformed,  and  a  few,  not  many,  well  in- 
formed, are  animadverting  upon  any  and  all 
phases  of  educational  endeavor.  Opinions  widely 
varying,  often-times  contradictory  of  one  another, 
are  expressed  concerning  the  meaning  and  pur- 
pose of  education,  as  well  as  concerning  the  cul- 
ture-materials and  the  method  of  procedure  by 
which  the  aim  may  be  wrought  out.  Great  dif- 
ference of  opinion  is,  furthermore,  expressed  con- 

i  Presidential  address  delivered  at  The  University  of 
Texas,  November  18,  1910,  before  the  Texas  Academy  of 
Science.  Printed  in  the  Educational  Review  of  April, 
1912,  and  included  in  this  volume  by  permission  of  the 
publishers. 


2  THE  MAN  OF  SCIENCE  AND 

cerning  the  administration  of  kindergartens,  ele- 
mentary schools,  secondary  schools,  normal 
schools,  colleges,  universities,  trade  schools,  pro- 
fessional schools,  schools  secular  and  religious,  and 
schools  public  and  private.  Surely,  within  the 
last  few  years  we  have  had  enough  educational 
advice  to  last  an  ordinary  planet  for  centuries, 
and  the  overconservative  man  is  ready  to  exclaim 
to  the  advisers  in  the  language  of  Job:  "You 
make  me  weary,"  while  the  radical  man  rejoiceth 
that  the  atmosphere  of  insurgency  is  invading 
even  the  most  time-honored  academic  haunts. 

Now,  in  the  midst  of  this  educational  confusion, 
which,  in  the  judgment  of  some  good  people,  prac- 
tically amounts  to  chaos,  what  should  be  the  at- 
titude of  the  man  of  science,  who,  as  Huxley  says, 
"is  one  who  simply  employs  trained  and  organized 
common  sense,  whose  methods  differ  from  com- 
mon sense  methods  only  so  far  as  the  guardsman's 
cut  and  thrust  differ  from  the  manner  in  which 
the  savage  wields  his  club,  whose  vast  results  are 
obtained  by  the  use  of  no  mystical  faculties,  by 
no  mental  processes  other  than  those  which  are 
practiced  in  the  humblest  and  meanest  affairs  of 
life"?  2  It  is  certainly  to  the  man  of  science,  the 
man  of  sanity,  whose  opinions  regarding  any  mat- 
ter are  formed  only  after  a  careful  investigation 
and  comparison  of  the  facts  involved,  whose  judg- 
ment is  not  warped  by  prejudice  or  self-interest, 

2  Huxley's  "Science  and  Education  Essays,"  Appleton  Edi- 
tion, 1898,  p.  45. 


EDUCATIONAL  CRITICISM  3 

the  man  who  has  sense  enough  to  get  at  the  cor- 
rect evaluation  of  things — it  is  to  this  man  that 
the  educational  world  must  look  for  a  rational 
settlement  of  our  present  disturbed  conditions. 

I  have  just  now  intimated  in  a  general  way 
what  should  be  the  attitude  of  the  scientific  man 
in  these  days  of  educational  contention;  but  I 
deem  it  worth  while  to  spend  a  short  time  in 
translating  this  general  statement  into  somewhat 
more  specific  terms. 

In  the  first  place,  the  scientific  man  of  the 
twentieth  century  should  be  a  man  who  knows; 
he  should  be  far  better  informed  than  his  predeces- 
sors of  ancient  and  mediaeval  times.  He  should 
realize  the  force  of  Lord  Bacon's  contention  that 
"Antiquitas  seculi  is  juventus  mundi,  and  that 
these  times  are  the  ancient  times,  when  the  world 
is  ancient ;  that  those  elder  generations  fell  short 
of  many  of  our  present  knowledges ;  that  they 
knew  but  a  small  part  of  the  world,  and  but  a 
brief  period  of  history ;  that  we,  on  the  contrary, 
are  acquainted  with  a  far  greater  extent  of  the 
world,  besides  having  uncovered  a  new  hemi- 
sphere, and  we  look  back  and  survey  long  periods 
of  history."3 

The  scientific  man  now  needs  that  kind  of  in- 
tellectual equipment  that  makes  him  the  heir  of 
the  ages,  that  renders  him  competent  to  sit  in 
judgment,  and  that  gives  him  the  right  to  ex- 

3  Quoted  from  an  article  on  Lord  Bacon  by  Von  Raumer 
in  Barnard's  "English  Pedagogy,"  p.  86. 


4  THE  MAN  OF  SCIENCE  AND 

press,  without  apology,  the  conclusions  he  has 
reached.  When  a  large  number  of  men  so  quali- 
fied shall  have  turned  their  attention  to  educa- 
tional matters,  many  vagaries  with  which  the 
popular,  and  even  the  professional,  mind  is  af- 
flicted, will  enter  upon  the  sleep  that  knows  no 
waking,  and  the  time  will  speedily  come  when  the 
man  armed  with  only  superficial  knowledge,  gath- 
ered at  odd  times  on  the  run,  will  be  accorded  no 
respect  whatever,  and  when,  the  crust  of  his  stupid 
egotism  having  been  broken,  he  will  no  longer  have 
the  courage  to  present,  with  any  degree  of  as- 
surance, his  half-baked  notions.  On  the  coming 
of  that  day  there  will  be  great  rejoicing  in  the 
world  of  learning  for  the  publication  of  articles, 
bulletins,  and  books  for  which  there  is  neither 
justification  nor  excuse,  will  then  be  placed  under 
the  ban. 

Again,  to  be  intellectually  qualified  to  deal  with 
educational  problems,  the  scientific  man  will  real- 
ize how  tremendously  complex  is  the  question  of 
education.  As  the  life  of  man  becomes  more  and 
more  varied,  as  more  intricate  and  more  difficult 
phases  of  human  activity  appear  from  age  to  age, 
so  the  education  which  obtained  in  the  days  of  the 
primitive  man,  simple  in  philosophy,  in  means  and 
in  method,  has,  by  slow  processes  of  evolution, 
lost  its  simplicity,  and  it  is  now  struggling  to 
respond  to  the  demands  that  grow  out  of  the  com- 
plex conditions  of  modern  society. 

It  is  just  here,  in  the  evolution  of  the  school, 


EDUCATIONAL  CRITICISM  6 

to  meet  changed  and  changing  conditions,  that 
the  services  of  the  man  who  knows  are  of  the 
greatest  value.  Perhaps  the  most  imperative 
need  at  the  present  day  is  the  development  of 
the  truly  scientific  spirit  among  those  charged 
with  the  direction  of  educational  institutions;  for 
it  is  only  that  spirit  that  can  think  into  unity 
the  many  diverse  phases  of  the  problem,  and  can 
assign  to  each  phase  its  proper  place  and  rank. 

The  fundamental  defect  in  pedagogical  think- 
ing has  been  the  over-emphasis  given  to  some  one 
feature  of  human  development  at  the  expense  of 
other  features  no  less  important.  It  is  the  sci- 
entific man  that  thinks  whole  thoughts,  that  rare 
form  of  thinking  for  the  want  of  which  the  Greeks, 
as  Socrates  pointed  out,  lost  the  very  foundations 
of  intellectual  and  moral  progress.  It  was  a  sim- 
ilar mistake  made  during  the  Middle  Ages  when 
education  was  conceived  to  be  confined  to  other- 
worldly interests  exclusively.  It  was  again  shown 
by  the  humanistic  movement,  which,  notwithstand- 
ing the  incalculable  blessings  which  it  brought  to 
the  world  of  learning  and  the  world  of  action, 
itself  became  enfeebled  by  lifting  into  undue  promi- 
nence the  linguistic  phase  of  education,  or  rather, 
by  refusing  to  recognize  other  phases  just  as  nec- 
essary. Another  kindred  error  is  perpetuated 
even  in  our  own  day  by  those  who  clamor  for  only 
practical,  utilitarian  policies  to  dominate  the 
school. 

Now,  it  is  the  man  of  science,  who,  endowing 


6  THE  MAN  OF  SCIENCE  AND 

and  fortifying  himself  with  the  truth  that  is  re- 
vealed by  the  study  of  the  world's  best  thought 
and  by  first-hand  investigation  of  education  as  it 
actually  exists  to-day,  will  be  able  to  seize  upon 
the  elements  of  permanent  worth  in  all  of  these 
conflicting  theories. 

The  opinion  is  here  advanced  that,  as  a  result 
of  his  study,  he  will  contend  that,  as  there  are 
all-enduring  elements  in  human  nature,  there  are 
also  certain  enduring  forms  of  human  culture, 
forms  which  the  accident  of  occupation  or  nation- 
ality should  not  eliminate;  that  every  human  be- 
ing born  into  the  world  is  born  with  the  intent 
that  the  possibilities  of  humanity  may  be  realized 
in  him,  and  that,  therefore,  any  educational  policy 
which  tends  to  convert  man  into  a  mere  work- 
animal,  that  seeks  to  peasantize  him,  that  aims  to 
professionalize  him  without  humanizing  him,  that 
labors  to  produce  an  animal  like  unto  a  strong 
beast  of  the  forest,  or  that  seeks  in  any  way  to 
abridge  opportunities  for  the  full  fruitage  of  his 
entire  human  nature,  is  to  be  condemned,  and 
that  without  remedy. 

Is  it  not  safe  to  conclude,  therefore,  that  knowl- 
edge is  the  first  essential  attribute  of  the  man  of 
science,  enabling  him  to  keep  his  balance  in  the 
midst  of  educational  upheavals,  and  to  maintain 
his  serenity  of  spirit  in  the  midst  of  a  perfect  babel 
of  voices?  Surely,  this  is  a  lesson  that  democra- 
cies should  learn,  that  knowledge,  real  knowledge, 
born  of  the  travail  of  thought  and  experience, 


EDUCATIONAL  CRITICISM  7 

differentiating  as  it  does,  the  physician  from  the 
quack,  the  lawyer  from  the  shyster,  the  states- 
man from  the  demagogue,  is  likewise  the  first  in- 
dispensable element  of  educational  sanity  and 
progress. 

In  the  second  place,  the  attitude  of  the  man  of 
science  should  be  strongly  marked  by  a  strong  and 
ready  sympathy.  To  the  normal  mind  the  whole 
wide  world  is  full  of  valuable  and  interesting  phys- 
ical and  spiritual  phenomena,  and  it  would,  there- 
fore, seem  to  be  obviously  foolish,  not  to  say 
wicked,  for  an  educational  worker  to  entertain 
feelings  of  indifference  or  hostility  towards  work- 
ers in  reputable  fields  other  than  the  one  in  which 
he  himself  is  engaged;  but,  alas,  in  education  it 
is  too  often  the  perfectly  obvious,  the  self-evident, 
the  axiomatic  that  must  be  proved.  It  is  for  the 
want  of  this  actual  sympathy  that  the  elective 
system  in  colleges  was  for  years  the  storm-center 
of  discussion.  Upon  occasions  without  number 
natural  scientists  and  classicists  engaged  in  de- 
bates in  which  there  was  manifested  far  more  heat 
than  light,  and  all  for  the  want  of  an  intelligent 
regard  on  the  part  of  each  debater  for  the  sub- 
ject represented  by  the  other.  The  narrow  spe- 
cialist who  loses  touch  with  experts  in  other 
branches  of  learning  is  cultivating  that  mental 
blindness  which,  according  to  the  late  lamented 
William  James,  causes  one  to  be  forward  in  pro- 
nouncing on  the  meaninglessness  of  forms  of  ex- 
istence other  than  his  own,  which  prevents  him 


8  THE  MAN  OF  SCIENCE  AND 

from  tolerating  and  respecting  those  other  forms, 
and  which  renders  him  unable  to  realize  that 
neither  the  whole  of  truth  nor  the  whole  of  good 
is  revealed  to  any  single  human  being.4  To  ex- 
press the  same  thought  in  another  way:  It  is 
the  cultivation  of  egoistic  feelings  that  has  made 
it  so  difficult  to  settle  the  vexed  question  of  the 
elective  system.  Even  to-day  one  not  infre- 
quently reads  that  the  elective  system  has  broken 
down,  and  there  is  a  great  rejoicing  by  a  certain 
type  of  mind  that  there  is  held  out  the  hope  of  a 
return  to  the  good  old  days  of  the  cast-iron  cur- 
riculum, when  everybody  had  to  learn  what  was 
required  of  everybody  else  seeking  academic  dis- 
tinction. 

It  is  this  want  of  sympathy  that  sometimes 
causes  one  to  hear  with  eagerness  that  students 
studying  the  classics  do  so  under  protest  and  with 
great  listlessness ;  but  at  the  same  time  he  is 
altogether  forgetful  of  an  actual  and  very  ma- 
terial fact  that  there  are  many  students,  or  rather 
pseudo-students,  pursuing  other  than  classical 
studies,  whom  ex-President  Patton,  of  Princeton, 
once  described  in  these  words: 

"The  student  says  to  his  teacher  'You  are  the  edu- 
cator, and  I  am  the  educatee.  Now,  educate  me  if 
you  can.'" 

It   is   because   of  this   inability   to   appreciate 

another's  point  of  view  that  the  college  professor 

4  James's  "Talks  to  Teachers  on  Psychology,"  pp.  263-4. 


EDUCATIONAL  CRITICISM  9 

not  infrequently  underestimates  the  value  and  the 
necessity  of  the  executive  man.  For  example,  on 
one  occasion  a  member  of  a  university  faculty,  a 
man  noted  in  two  continents  for  his  scholastic 
attainments,  said  to  me:  "Do  you  know  what  I 
would  do  if  I  were  elected  a  college  president?" 
I  replied,  "I  have  not  the  remotest  idea."  Where- 
upon, he  remarked,  "I  would  resign  at  once  in 
order  that  I  might  abolish  the  office." 

The  professor's  remark  might  prove  wholesome, 
if  not  comforting,  to  the  college  president  here 
and  there;  but  the  professor,  himself,  together 
with  not  a  few  of  his  contemporaries  who  sym- 
pathize too  deeply  with  themselves,  and  who  are 
suffering  from  inability  to  do  justice  in  estimating 
the  services  of  the  executive  man,  would  do  well 
to  recall  a  passage  to  be  found  in  Cicero's  "De 
Senectute,"  a  passage  which  may  be  translated 
rather  freely  as  follows : 

"Downright  stupid  is  the  argument  of  those  who 
contend  that,  while  some  of  the  sailors  aboard  a  ves- 
sel are  climbing  the  masts,  while  others  are  running 
up  and  down  the  decks,  and  while  still  others  are 
emptying  the  bilge-water,  the  pilot,  holding  the  helm 
and  sitting  at  the  stern  at  his  ease,  is  a  mere  use- 
less and  ornamental  supernumerary.  Their  judg- 
ment is  foolish  indeed,  for  it  is  the  pilot  by  whose 
talent,  authority,  and  j  udgment  the  course  of  the  ship 
is  directed,  and  the  safety  of  all  on  board  is  guaran- 
teed." 

My  friend,  the  professor,  and  those  of  his  class, 


10         THE  MAN  OF  SCIENCE  AND 

seem  to  forget  that  the  average  college  president 
stands  sorely  in  need  of  qualifications  of  the  high- 
est order,  which  were  thus  described  by  Dean 
John  O.  Reed,  of  the  College  of  Arts  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Michigan,  who,  when  that  institution 
was  in  search  of  a  successor  to  President  Angell, 
gave  this  advice: 

"He  should  bring  to  the  University  the  financial 
genius  of  Messrs.  Morgan,  Carnegie  and  Rocke- 
feller combined,  then  possibly  salaries  might  go  up. 
He  should  possess  the  united  powers  of  research  of 
Darwin,  of  Pasteur,  of  Helmholz,  and  of  Mommsen, 
then  maybe  'productive  scholarship*  would  get  a 
show.  He  should  be  able  to  organize  and  disorgan- 
ize railroads,  mergers,  trusts  and  holding  companies 
with  a  skill  and  finesse  that  would  make  J.  J.  Hill 
or  E.  H.  Harriman  look  like  one  of  Mr.  Heinz's 
fifty-seven  varieties;  this  would  encourage  economic 
and  business  administration.  All  this  for  the  glory 
and  the  advancement  of  Alma  Mater.  For  his  own 
individual  needs  the  new  president  should  have  the 
ideas,  the  ideals,  the  forceful  rhetoric,  and  the  per- 
sistent purpose  of  T.  Roosevelt,  Esq.,  also  the  eye- 
glasses and  the  teeth;  he  should  have  an  epidermis 
equal  to  two  thicknesses  of  sole  leather  and  the 
forceful,  striking  manner  of  Professor  John  H.  Sul- 
livan. He  may  then  be  able  to  meet  the  legislature, 
the  Board  of  Regents,  or  his  separate  faculties  and 
make  each  of  them  'sit  up/  Like  bad  boys  in  school 
we  can  each  of  us  think  of  at  least  one  professor 
who  has  been  'spoiling  for  a  licking  for  months/  and 
the  new  president  ought  to  get  to  him  quick/' 


EDUCATIONAL  CRITICISM  11 

There  are,  perhaps,  not  a  few  members  of  col- 
lege faculties  in  America  who  have  read  with  sat- 
isfaction an  article  in  a  recent  number  of  the  Na- 
tion, containing  this  sentence: 

"There  is  a  fine  opening  for  a  new  institution  to 
show  what  the  college  can  be  wherein  the  personal 
domination  by  the  president  is  abandoned;  and  in  its 
stead  we  have  a  company  of  gentlemen  and  scholars 
working  together,  with  the  president  simply  as  the 
efficient  center  of  inspiration  and  cooperation." 

It  would  be  well,  however,  for  college  profes- 
sors and  the  general  public  to  know  what  a  very 
capable  college  president  has  said  in  reply  to  the 
suggestion  just  now  quoted.  This  college  presi- 
dent, who  is  a  scholar,  also,  says : 

"Concerning  this  statement  two  things  may  be  said 
with  a  considerable  amount  of  emphasis.  The  first 
is  that  the  condition  described  in  the  last  four  lines 
is  precisely  what  is  to  be  found  at  every  American 
college  and  university  that  is  worthy  of  the  name, 
and  that  no  evidence  to  the  contrary  has  ever  been 
produced  by  anybody.  The  second  is  that,  while  the 
attempt  to  create  a  contrary  impression  may  be  orig- 
inally due  to  ignorance,  when  persisted  in,  it  can 
only  be  attributed  to  malice."  5 

Many  other  absurd  and  very  unseemly  conten- 
tions now  misdirecting  and  dissipating  the  ener- 

o  Nicholas  Murray  Butler  in  Educational  Review,  Yol- 
ume  40,  p.  324. 


12        THE  MAN  OF  SCIENCE  AND 

gies  of  the  world's  educational  workers  would  cease 
if  only  the  spirit  of  hospitality,  of  real  friendli- 
ness, of  genuine  open-mindedness  should  be  allowed 
to  have  free  course.  With  that  spirit  dominant, 
such  questions  as  academic  freedom,  the  autonomy 
of  the  high  school,  the  education  of  woman  upon 
equal  terms  with  man,  the  respective  provinces 
of  the  normal  school  and  of  the  university  depart- 
ment of  education,  the  value  of  various  forms  of 
industrial  education,  high  standards  for  profes- 
sional degrees,  the  democratizing  of  all  education, 
and  scores  of  other  vexatious  problems  could  be, 
and  would  be,  peacefully  and  easily  settled,  for 
the  issues  would  then  be  determined,  not  in  that 
gladiatorial  arena,  where  the  weapons  used  are 
prejudice  and  lung-power,  but  in  the  realm  of 
amicable  conference,  where  reason  is  the  arbiter, 
and  where  every  worthy  cause  is  guaranteed  a 
decent,  respectful  hearing. 

But  the  scientific  man,  in  his  attitude  towards 
educational  criticism,  in  addition  to  the  attributes 
of  rational  knowledge  and  sympathetic  feeling,  will 
manifest  executive  disposition  and  power — he  will 
carry  over  into  the  world  of  action  what  is  alike 
dictated  by  his  reason  and  prompted  by  his  heart. 
If,  for  example,  a  well-informed  layman,  and  one 
unusually  interested  in  the  welfare  of  colleges,  takes 
the  time  and  the  pains  to  write  two  volumes,6  di- 

eBirdseye's  "Individual  Training  in  our  Colleges,"  407 
pp.  (The  Macmillan  Co.,  New  York),  and  Birdseye's  "The 
Re-organization  of  our  Colleges,"  396  pp. 


EDUCATIONAL  CRITICISM  13 

reeling  attention  in  one  to  what  he  conceives  to 
be  the  fundamental  defect  in  college  life,  and  in 
the  other  to  the  advisability  of  a  thorough  re- 
organization of  the  modern  college,  the  scientific 
man,  if  convinced  of  the  correctness  of  the  sug- 
gestions made,  will  at  once  give  his  support  to  the 
reforms  proposed.  When  an  especially  compe- 
tent and  fair-minded  critic  publishes  the  results 
of  his  twenty  years'  educational  observation  and 
experience,7  pointing  out  clearly  and  unmistak- 
ably that  efficient  teaching,  as  well  as  rational  re- 
search, is  a  legitimate  function,  an  imperative 
function  of  the  university,  and  when  the  same 
author  exposes,  not  in  malice,  but  in  the  interest 
of  truth,  the  actual  status  of  the  medical  schools 
in  America,8  the  truly  scientific  man  will  not 
brush  aside  every  suggestion  by  exclaiming  in  the 
language  of  race  bigotry,  "There  is  nothing  of 
value  in  the  lucubrations  of  this  man;  his  name, 
Abraham,  is  enough  for  me."  He  who  needs  to 
make  no  apology  for  his  professional  conduct, 
will  accept  at  its  true  worth  every  criticism, 
whether  made  by  Jew  or  Gentile,  realizing  the 
faithfulness  of  the  wounds  of  a  friend,  and  dem- 
onstrating his  own  integrity  and  courage  by  ref- 

fFlexner's  "The  American  College,"  235  pp.  (The  Cen- 
tury Company,  New  York.) 

8  "Medical  Education  in  the  United  States  and  Canada: 
A  Report  to  the  Carnegie  Foundation  for  the  Advance- 
ment of  Teaching,"  by  Abraham  Flexner,  326  pp.  (Pub- 
lished as  Bulletin  No.  4,  by  the  Carnegie  Foundation  for 
the  Advancement  of  Teaching,  New  York.) 


14        THE  MAN  OF  SCIENCE  &ND 

ormation  of  life,  even  though  it  lead  to  the  de- 
struction of  long-cherished  ideals  or  to  the  elimi- 
nation of  an  educational  institution  that  for  years 
may  have,  because  of  either  ignorance  or  malice 
aforethought,  been  deceiving  the  people. 

I  have  cited  only  three  or  four  instances  in 
which  the  scientific  man  should  manifest  his  will- 
power in  order  that  educational  ideals  pass  into 
substantial  realities;  but,  especially  in  a  demo- 
cratic country,  where  assertion  too  often  passes 
for  argument  and  impudence  for  wisdom,  the  op- 
portunities to  render  such  service  are  great  in 
both  number  and  variety.  The  continuous  dem- 
onstration of  courage  in  seizing  these  opportuni- 
ties will  indeed  be  valuable,  for  it  will  establish 
the  fundamental  truth  unknown  as  yet  in  some 
regions,  that  in  school  affairs  school  men  are 
the  natural  and  legitimate  leaders,  without  whose 
leadership  an  absolutely  essential  element  in  the 
promotion  of  rational  progress  is  wanting.  It 
may  require  some  nerve  to  do  so;  but,  when  the 
proper  occasion  offers,  the  scientific  man,  the  man 
who  knows,  should  not  hesitate  to  submit  evidence 
of  the  inefficiency  of  the  schools  of  his  own  com- 
munity or  his  own  state.  A  little  stiffen- 
ing of  the  backbone  is  sometimes  needed  to  con- 
vince a  people  in  a  democratic  state  of  society 
that  the  separation  of  their  schools  from  the  do- 
main of  partisan  politics  must  be  accomplished  if 
the  schools  be  saved.  Some  firmness  must  be 
shown  if  tax-payers  are  to  be  converted  to  the 


EDUCATIONAL  CRITICISM  15 

doctrine  that,  in  the  equipment  and  the  main- 
tenance of  the  modern  school,  liberality  of  invest- 
ment is  the  part  of  wisdom,  while  parsimony  is 
foolish,  if  not  criminal.  To  stand  for  the  scien- 
tific study  of  education  in  any  of  its  phases,  to 
contend  that  such  study,  dealing,  as  it  does,  with 
the  evolution  of  man,  is  as  difficult  and  as  impor- 
tant as  any  other  branch  of  human  learning,  will, 
in  some  places,  require  the  exhibition  of  no  small 
degree  of  determination. 

But  it  is  this  display  of  executive  energy  that 
furnishes  the  real  test  of  human  worth,  a  uni- 
versal truth  the  delightful  Portia,  in  "The  Mer- 
chant of  Venice,"  expresses  in  these  words:  "If 
to  do  were  as  easy  as  to  know  what  were  good 
to  do,  then  chapels  had  been  churches,  and  poor 
men's  cottages  princes'  palaces."  If  the  educa- 
tional world  is  to  make  advance,  the  strenuous 
life  must  be  lived,  and  the  man  of  science  will 
fail  to  make  good  if  he  confine  himself  to  an  aca- 
demic or  a  sentimental  view  of  the  world,  and  if 
he  do  not  bring  things  to  pass.  Holding  fast 
to  this  truth,  he  will  lend  his  aid  when  the  fresh- 
water college  is  summoned  to  trial  before  the 
bar  of  public  opinion  (and  the  day  is  not  far 
distant  when  that  trial  will  occur),  when  cam- 
paigns to  insure  better  support,  better  organi- 
zation, and  better  teachers  for  the  schools  are 
inaugurated,  and  when  any  other  righteous  re- 
form of  education  calls  at  an  opportune  time  for 
volunteers. 


16  EDUCATIONAL  CRITICISM 

In  conclusion,  I  am  rejoiced  that  the  signs  of 
the  times  warrant  the  belief  and  the  hope  that 
scientific  men,  blessed  with  knowledge  and  insight, 
endowed  with  charity  and  catholicity  of  spirit, 
and  stimulated  by  courage  and  confidence,  are 
destined  to  exercise  greater  and  greater  influence 
in  educational  affairs.  Few  of  these  men,  it  is 
true,  will  be  accorded  places  in  the  world's  pan- 
theon of  fame;  thousands  of  them,  avoiding  the 
lime-light  of  publicity,  will  patiently  work  in 
obscurity,  perfectly  content  if  only  the  principles 
they  espouse  shall  eventually  be  triumphant. 
Nevertheless,  it  will  be  through  the  labors  of  such 
men,  efficient  in  service,  but  neither  officious  nor 
offensive  in  performance,  that  mighty  achieve- 
ments in  the  educational  world  will  be  won.  To 
them  the  accomplishment  will  be  dearer  than  the 
credit  therefor ;  but,  when  truth's  record  is  finally 
made  up,  each  of  them  will  be  found  worthy  of 
such  a  tribute  as  Kipling,  in  his  "Pharaoh  and 
the  Sergeant,"  thus  pays  to  the  nameless  heroes 
sent  by  England  "to  make  a  man  of  Pharaoh" : 

"But  he  did  it  on  the  cheap  and  on  the  quiet, 
And  he's  not  allowed  to  forward  any  claim — 

Though  he  drilled  a  black  man  white,  though  he  make 

a  mummy  fight, 
He   will   still   continue    Sergeant   What-is-name — 

Private,   Corporal,   Color-Sergeant,  and  Instructor — 
But  the  everlasting  miracle's  the  same!" 


II 

SOME    CONTRIBUTIONS    OF    THE   NINE- 
TEENTH   CENTURY    TO    EDU- 
CATIONAL PROGRESS l 

It  is  a  comparatively  easy  task  for  the  believer 
in  social  evolution  to  exhibit  the  great  progress 
the  world  made  from  1801  to  1901  in  the  four 
great  institutions  of  the  family,  the  church,  civil 
society,  and  the  state.  It  is  the  purpose  of  this 
paper,  however,  to  set  forth,  at  least  partially, 
the  changes  wrought  in  that  other  institution, 
the  school,  changes  which  have  been  as  marvelous 
and  as  far-reaching  as  those  which  have  occurred 
in  any  other  field  of  human  endeavor.  It  is 
proper  to  state  as  a  further  preliminary  that  the 
marked  educational  influence  of  other  agencies  is 
duly  recognized,  but  that,  on  this  occasion,  it  is 
desired  to  confine  the  term  education  to  that 
single  institution  which  has  for  its  sole  function 
the  purposeful  training  of  the  young. 

In  the  first  place,  the  Nineteenth  Century  has, 
by  reason  of  its  spirit  of  critical  investigation, 
completely  changed  the  world's  idea  respecting 
the  aim  in  education.  In  former  centuries  sev- 
eral aims  obtained.  Among  the  ancient  Jews,  for 

i  A  paper  read  before  the  Texas  Academy  of  Science, 
June  10,  1901. 

17 


18          SOME  CONTRIBUTIONS  TO 

example,  it  was  that  of  a  pious,  virtuous  life  seek- 
ing to  reach  the  ideal  of  holiness  commanded  by 
the  Almighty.  Among  the  Spartans  and  the  Ro- 
mans it  was  the  splendid  physical  training  and 
the  unswerving  patriotism  necessary  to  promote 
the  safety  and  majesty  of  the  state.  Among  the 
Athenians  it  was  the  harmony  of  moral,  physical, 
and  intellectual  development,  the  aesthetic  element 
being  dominant.  Among  the  early  Christians 
celestial  citizenship  was  the  controlling  ideal. 
With  the  educators  of  the  Renaissance  the  aim 
was  learning,  and  learning  confined  chiefly  to  the 
ancient  classics  of  Greece  and  Rome. 

But  the  world-spirit  of  the  Nineteenth  Century 
could  not  be  satisfied  with  any  of  these  partial 
aims,  for  new  conceptions  of  human  life,  brought 
about  by  new  conditions,  demanded  that  educa- 
tion should  result  in  something  more  than  the  pro- 
duction of  a  kind  of  pietism,  which,  by  reason  of 
its  disregard  of  human  relationships,  is  danger- 
ously akin  to  mysticism.  Nor  could  the  narrow 
view  that  man  is  to  become  a  mere  creature  of 
the  state,  a  tool  for  civic  use,  or  the  mere  creature 
of  any  social  whole,  be  longer  tolerated,  for  the 
belief  in  the  doctrine  insisted  upon  by  Kant  that 
every  human  being  is  his  own  end,  is  fundamental 
to  the  ideal  of  modern  education.  The  idea  that 
either  the  body  or  the  soul  should  receive  exclusive 
attention  could  not  longer  survive,  nor  could  ad- 
herence to  mere  scholarship  as  an  ideal  be  longer 
maintained. 


EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS  19 

That  ancient  and  mediaeval  educational  ideas 
have  been  discarded,  the  testimony  of  hundreds  of 
eminent  thinkers  of  the  Nineteenth  Century  and 
the  practices  of  the  better  schools  throughout  the 
civilized  world  furnish  abundant  evidence.  Let  us 
briefly  examine  only  a  small  portion  of  that  evi- 
dence. 

Herbart,  the  successor  of  Kant  at  Konigsburg, 
declared  that  the  only  and  the  whole  work  of  edu- 
cation can  be  summed  up  in  the  concept  morality. 
"Morality,"  says  he,  "is  universally  recognized 
as  the  highest  aim  of  humanity  and,  consequently, 
of  education" ;  but  he  goes  a  step  further  and  de- 
clares that  morality  is  the  whole  aim  of  both  hu- 
manity and  education ;  but  it  is  a  morality  which 
is  founded  upon,  and  includes,  enlightenment  and 
training  of  the  whole  self  through  the  development 
of  many-sided  interest. 

In  Herbert  Spencer's  essay,  "What  Knowledge 
is  of  Most  Worth?"  which  was  published  in  1859, 
and  which  attracted  world-wide  attention,  the  aim 
is  defined  thus :  "To  prepare  us  for  complete  liv- 
ing is  the  function  which  education  has  to  dis- 
charge." By  complete  living  Spencer  does  not 
mean  living  in  the  mere  material  sense,  but  in  the 
widest  sense.  "The  general  problem  which  com- 
prehends every  special  problem,"  he  contends,  "is 
the  right  ruling  of  conduct  in  all  directions  under 
all  circumstances — in  what  manner  to  treat  the 
body ;  in  what  way  to  treat  the  mind ;  in  what  way 
to  manage  our  affairs ;  in  what  way  to  bring  up 


20  SOME  CONTRIBUTIONS  TO 

a  family;  in  what  way  to  behave  as  a  citizen;  in 
what  way  to  utilize  all  those  sources  of  happiness 
which  nature  supplies ;  and  how  to  use  all  our  fac- 
ulties to  the  greatest  advantage  to  ourselves  and 
others.  And  this  being  the  great  thing  needful 
for  us  to  learn,  is,  by  consequence,  the  great  thing 
which  education  is  to  teach." 

Rosenkranz  expresses  the  generally  accepted 
view  when  he  says:  "Education  has  for  its  end 
to  lead  man  to  actualize  himself  through  his  own 
efforts."  Tompkins  expresses  a  similar  view  in 
these  words:  "Teaching  is  the  process  by  which 
one  mind  of  set  purpose  produces  the  life-unfold- 
ing process  in  another."  Dr.  William  T.  Harris 
has  formulated  the  aim  in  these  words:  "Educa- 
tion is  to  elevate  the  individual  to  the  level  of  the 
species." 

But  it  is  useless  to  multiply  quotations  bearing 
upon  this  point.  The  educator  of  to-day, 
through  the  labors  of  his  predecessors  of  the  last 
century,  has  obtained  clear  vision  of  the  true  goal 
of  education.  He  understands,  as  it  has  never 
before  been  understood,  that  to  be  educated  means 
to  be  prepared  to  enter  efficiently  and  hopefully 
upon  the  work  of  the  world's  civilization ;  it  means 
to  have  interest  and  power  and  skill  with  respect 
to  the  several  phases  of  human  life;  it  means,  in 
one  word,  to  become  a  man  intellectually,  morally, 
physically;  a  man  in  all  the  fullness  and  glory 
that  have,  through  the  evolution  of  the  race, 
found  a  place  in  the  content  of  that  term. 


EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS  gl 

It  was  reserved,  furthermore,  for  the  Nineteenth 
Century  to  discover  and  formulate  the  specific 
aims  of  elementary,  of  secondary,  and  of  higher 
education,  an  achievement  which  has  served  to 
organize  and  rationalize  the  whole  process  of  the 
school,  and  which  has  assigned  definite  functions 
to  each  period  of  school  life.  The  aim  of  the 
elementary  school,  which  is  to  occupy  the  time  of 
the  child  from  the  age  of  six  to  fourteen  years,  is 
to  give  him  a  mastery  of  the  school  arts,  such  as 
reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic,  as  well  as  some 
degree  of  skill  in  their  use.  It  is  not  expected 
that  the  pupil  in  the  elementary  school  will  gain 
a  mastery  of  nature  or  of  human  nature.  The 
law  of  his  being  is  such  as  to  preclude  his  dealing 
in  a  thorough  manner  with  such  subjects  as  re- 
quire a  careful,  discriminating,  and  exact  judg- 
ment. The  pupil  here  looks  upon  each  event  in 
his  mental  progress  as  largely  independent  of 
every  other  event.  He  lives  in  the  realm  of  the 
particular,  and  he  is,  therefore,  on  account  of  his 
intellectual  infancy,  unable  to  draw  logical  con- 
clusions with  reference  to  the  nature  of  things 
or  to  the  conduct  of  life. 

The  distinctive  aim  of  the  secondary  school  is 
to  furnish  the  pupil  with  general  culture,  that  is 
to  say,  to  give  him  insight  into  the  world  of  hu- 
man learning.  The  general  culture  is  to  disclose 
to  him  the  real  nature  of  life  and  is  to  show  him, 
by  means  of  the  close  relationship  existing  be- 
tween his  school  studies  and  life  in  the  world,  the 


22  SOME  CONTRIBUTIONS  TO 

possibilities    that    are    spread    out    before    him. 

The  aim  of  higher  education  is  to  give  a  mas- 
tery over  some  particular  field  of  human  learning. 
It  presupposes  on  the  part  of  the  student  such 
previous  training  as  has  furnished  substantial 
foundation  for  the  successful  prosecution  of  the 
work  of  the  specialist. 

The  Nineteenth  Century,  having  transformed 
the  aim  in  education,  it  followed  as  a  natural  con- 
sequence that  the  materials  of  instruction  should 
likewise  be  altered.  The  curricula  of  the  elemen- 
tary and  the  secondary  schools  of  the  great  na- 
tions of  the  world  to-day  provide  for  instruction 
in  the  two  great  groups  of  human  learning,  one 
pertaining  to  nature,  and  the  other  to  human  na- 
ture. This  expansion  of  the  curricula  was  born 
of  the  world-wide  belief  that  the  traditional  tripos 
of  Latin,  Greek  and  mathematics  produced  a  one- 
sided development,  a  development,  too,  that  has 
too  little  bearing  upon  the  problems  of  life.  The 
school,  being  free  from  the  domination  of  arti- 
ficial aims,  has  to  a  great  degree  been  free  from 
the  use  of  artificial  means.  It  is  for  this  reason 
that  the  study  of  the  vernacular  has  assumed  a 
dignity  co-ordinate  with  that  of  other  languages, 
and  has,  in  fact,  supplanted  the  ancient  languages 
for  use  in  the  beginning  of  the  child's  education. 
While  the  vernacular  has  not,  in  some  quarters, 
been  regarded  as  highly  as  it  should  have  been, 
yet  these  words,  uttered  by  the  common-sense 
philosopher,  John  Locke,  do  not  now  justly  apply 


EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS  23 

to  many  an  institution  in  Great  Britain  and  Amer- 
ica: "If  any  one  among  us  have  a  facility  or  a 
purity  more  than  ordinary  in  his  mother  tongue, 
it  is  owing  to  chance  or  his  genius  or  anything 
rather  than  to  his  education  or  any  care  of  his 
teacher."  No  doctrine  in  education  has  been  more 
completely  removed  from  the  realm  of  debate  than 
that  training  in  the  use  of  one's  own  tongue 
wherein  he  is  born,  and  in  which  and  with  which 
he  is  to  live  his  intellectual  life,  is  an  indispensable 
factor  in  a  liberal  education. 

Time  forbids  a  detailed  statement  concerning 
other  subjects,  which,  for  the  purpose  of  general 
culture,  are  to  be  found  in  the  curriculum  of  the 
elementary  and  secondary  schools.  I  may,  there- 
fore, be  allowed  to  say,  somewhat  dogmatically, 
that  the  curriculum  which  is  inherited  by  the 
Twentieth  Century  contains  five  co-ordinate 
groups  of  study,  as  follows: 

1.  That  group  by  which  nature  in  its  quanti- 
tative aspect  is  considered,  including  mathematics, 
physics,  chemistry,  etc. 

2.  The    biologic    group,   which   explains    the 
phenomena  of  nature  in  their  qualitative  aspect. 

At  least  a  general  knowledge  of  these  two 
groups  is  conceived  to  be  necessary  for  one  to 
understand  the  physical  world  in  which  he  lives, 
and  is  equally  necessary  for  him  to  understand 
the  existing  forms  of  domestic,  social,  industrial, 
political,  and  even  religious  life,  for,  while  it  is 
unquestionably  true  that  man's  conquests  in  the 


24          SOME  CONTRIBUTIONS  TO 

realm  of  natural  science  have  been  the  means  by 
which  he  has  conquered  the  forces  of  nature,  it 
is  also  true  that  they  have  been  made  to  contribute 
largely  to  the  result  of  that  higher  contest  in 
which  man  has  gained  the  victory  over  himself. 

The  third,  fourth  and  fifth  groups  of  study  re- 
late to  man,  exhibiting  him  in  his  three-fold  na- 
ture of  intellect,  sensibility  and  will.  In  gram- 
mar, for  example,  which  is  a  representative  of  the 
thought-group  of  studies,  the  pupil  learns  that 
man  is  a  thinking  being,  becomes  acquainted  with 
the  nature  of  thought,  and  finds  revealed  one  phase 
of  his  own  existence.  In  the  study  of  literature, 
which  represents  the  art  group  of  studies,  he  learns 
something  of  the  ideals  of  humanity,  and  ulti- 
mately perceives  how  surpassingly  good  is  that 
which  is  beautiful.  The  study  of  history,  which 
represents  another  group  of  human  nature  stud- 
ies, reveals  man  in  his  volitional  aspect.  While 
literature  sets  forth  ideals  to  be  reached,  history 
records  those  to  which  man,  by  the  exercise  of 
will,  has  already  attained. 

Training  in  these  five  groups  of  study  un- 
doubtedly finds  its  raison  d'etre  in  the  modern 
aim  in  education,  and,  properly  carried  on,  real- 
izes that  aim,  furnishing  the  youth  continuous 
opportunity  for  the  development  of  his  entire 
being,  giving  him  acquaintance  not  only  with  the 
externalities  of  life,  but  also  with  that  inner 
spirit  which  is  the  very  essence  of  life,  individual 
and  social. 


EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS  25 

The  modern  educational  ideal  has  had  marked 
influence  in  changing  the  curriculum  of  the  college 
and  university,  also.  It  would  be  interesting  to 
trace  the  evolution  of  this  curriculum  during  the 
last  one  hundred  years ;  but  I  deem  it  sufficient  to 
give  the  final  result  only.  It  cannot  be  better 
stated  than  in  this  paragraph,  taken  from  an 
article  which  was  recently  written  by  President 
Jordan  of  Leland  Stanford  Junior  University: 

"Each  man  should  follow  as  near  as  may  be  that 
line  of  effort  which  will  do  the  most  for  him,  which 
will  enable  him  to  realize  the  best  possibilities  of  his 
own  life.  There  is  no  single  curriculum,  no  ideal 
curriculum,  and  any  prearranged  course  of  advanced 
study  is  an  affront  to  the  mind  of  the  real  student. 
.  .  .  Among  men  must  exist  a  division  of  labor. 
No  one  man  can  master  even  a  single  branch  of  sci- 
ence. Mastery  means  willingness  to  forego  knowl- 
edge in  other  fields.  .  .  .  The  course  of  study 
thus  is  a  relic  of  mediaevalism.  .  .  .  The  key- 
note to  the  education  of  the  future  must  be  con- 
structive individualism.  .  .  .  We  may  answer 
Mr.  Spencer's  question:  'What  knowledge  is  of  the 
most  worth?' — that  which  is  worth  most  to  me.  The 
mission  of  the  university  is  to  furnish  this  knowl- 
edge, just  this  knowledge  which  I  need,  and  to  fur- 
nish it  to  me." 

In  matters  pertaining  to  school  discipline  the 
Nineteenth  Century  made  remarkable  progress. 
In  olden  times,  the  authority  of  the  schoolmaster 
was  considered  the  chief  element  in  discipline ;  the 


26          SOME  CONTRIBUTIONS  TO 

rod,  which  was  his  first,  as  well  as  his  last,  resort, 
became  the  symbol  of  his  office.  In  the  schools  of 
ancient  Rome,  daily  lessons  began  at  an  early 
hour,  and  we  are  told  that  the  screams  of  the  pu- 
pils, caused  by  the  blows  of  their  teachers,  were 
a  source  of  so  great  annoyance  that  gentlemen 
living  near  the  schools,  and  yet  desirous  of  pro- 
longing their  morning  slumbers,  were  obliged  to 
remove  their  quarters  to  quieter  neighborhoods. 
Montaigne  gives  this  testimony-  concerning  the 
schools  of  his  day: 

"It  [the  school]  is  a  real  house  of  correction  of 
imprisoned  youth.  They  are  made  debauched  before 
they  are  so.  Do  but  come  in  when  they  are  about 
their  lessons,  and  you  shall  hear  nothing  but  the 
outcries  of  boys  under  execution,  with  the  thundering 
noise  of  their  pedagogues,  drunk  with  fury.  .  .  . 
A  cursed  and  pernicious  way  of  proceeding!  .  .  . 
How  much  more  decent  it  would  be  to  see  their 
classes  strewn  with  green  leaves  and  fine  flowers 
than  with  the  bloody  stumps  of  birch  and  willows!" 

But  with  Pestalozzi's  experiment  in  Stanz, 
which  took  place  near  the  close  of  the  Eighteenth 
Century,  kindness,  love,  and  rationality  of  pro- 
cedure have  become  more  and  more  prominent  in 
the  management  of  schools.  Corporal  punish- 
ment is  more  and  more  passing  into  disuse,  for  it 
is  now  generally  believed  that  intellectual  and 
moral  results  are  to  be  achieved  through  the  use 
of  intellectual  and  moral  means.  Compulsory 


EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS  27 

obedience  may  do  in  the  management  of  dumb 
creatures;  but  in  the  development  of  a  race  of 
freemen  it  is  singularly  unreasonable  and  uni- 
formly unsuccessful.  It  is  for  this  reason  that, 
in  the  school,  which  is  founded  to  unfold  the  pow- 
ers and,  thereby,  the  freedom  of  the  human 
spirit,  arbitrary,  autocratic,  despotic  government 
should  not  be  tolerated.  Because  of  the  fact  that 
a  man  is  worth  only  as  much  as  his  will  is  worth, 
it  follows  that  one  great  function  in  the  manage- 
ment of  children  is  to  cultivate  the  continuous 
free  expression  of  human  wills  along  right  lines 
of  conduct. 

The  political  significance  of  this  doctrine  of 
freedom  was  thus  emphasized  in  an  address  de- 
livered before  the  Edinburgh  Philosophical  Society 
some  years  ago  by  Thomas  F.  Bayard,  the  Min- 
ister of  the  United  States  to  Great  Britain: 

"The  freedom  of  its  individual  members  is  the 
essential  basis  of  the  freedom  of  the  state.  The  in- 
dividual freedom  of  man's  mind  and  soul  is  the  in- 
strumentality by  which  the  world  under  the  very  laws 
of  its  origin  and  progress  has  been  raised  from  bru- 
tality and  barbarism  to  its  present  state  of  civiliza- 
tion." 

The  introduction  of  the  democratic  ideal  into 
the  management  of  the  school  is,  however,  by  no 
means  inconsistent  with  that  other  idea,  that  the 
individual  must  have  regard  for  law  and  for 
righteous  authority.  In  fact,  it  is  through  the 


28  SOME  CONTRIBUTIONS  TO 

sovereignty  of  law  that  the  freedom  of  the  indi- 
vidual is  to  be  protected  and  fostered. 

Again,  the  Nineteenth  Century  has  discovered 
and  formulated  a  body  of  doctrines  with  respect 
to  procedure  in  instruction,  thereby  bringing  def- 
initeness  and  sanity  into  method  in  teaching. 
Rousseau,  who,  as  it  were,  was  an  eloquent  voice 
crying  in  the  wilderness,  noted  the  complete  ab- 
sence of  scientific  knowledge  in  the  practice  of  the 
schools  of  his  day,  and,  hence,  declared  that,  if 
one  should  desire  to  teach  aright,  he  should  adopt 
policies  diametrically  opposed  to  those  in  vogue. 
In  his  day,  as  in  the  centuries  preceding,  it  had 
not  occurred  even  to  the  guild  of  schoolmasters 
that  there  is  any  vital  relation  between  psychology 
and  pedagogy,  and  so  teaching  was  little  more 
than  a  mechanical  process.  In  the  Nineteenth 
Century,  however,  through  rational,  practical 
study  of  real  psychology,  some  fundamental  edu- 
cational laws  have  been  established,  and  have  been 
made  to  lend  dignity  and  certainty  to  the  teaching 
process.  Method,  therefore,  according  to  the 
modern  notion,  is  not  a  mere  trick  or  a  device  de- 
termined by  the  fancy  or  the  peculiarity  of  the 
teacher,  or  by  the  age,  sex,  or  nationality  of  the 
pupil,  but  by  laws  governing  the  development  of 
the  human  mind.  Through  the  application  of 
this  simple  truth,  teaching  has  been  removed  from 
the  plane  of  empiricism,  and  has  been  placed 
among  truly  scientific  pursuits. 

In  the  method  of  the  old  education  there  were 


EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS  29 

but  two  prominent  factors — the  cultivation  of  the 
memory  for  words,  and  compulsory  obedience 
through  fear  of  punishment.  The  new  education 
rejects  as  unsound  and  irrational  the  study  of 
mere  words,  and  insists  that  the  process  of  teach- 
ing, from  beginning  to  end,  shall  be  concerned 
with  ideas,  and  ideas,  too,  that  are  to  be  gained 
by  the  self-activity  of  the  pupil.  The  method  of 
the  old  education  was  dogmatic:  all  truth  was 
thought  to  be  known,  and  the  pupil  was  to  accept 
it  without  daring  to  call  it  in  question:  the  mod- 
ern teacher's  method  is  inductive,  and  stimulates 
the  pupil  to  examine  things  for  himself,  compare 
them  for  himself,  and  express  his  own  conclusions 
for  himself.  The  method  of  the  old  education 
laid  an  embargo  upon  thought ;  that  of  the  new 
education  is  in  harmony  with  the  belief  that, 
through  freedom  of  thought,  is  to  come  the  glori- 
fication of  the  race.  The  method  of  the  old  edu- 
cation relied  upon  fear  as  the  supreme  motive  to 
learning;  the  method  of  the  new  education  relies 
upon  the  inherent  interest  in  the  subjects  of  study. 
That  this  great  change  has  taken  place,  is  at- 
tested by  every  well-conducted  oral  recitation,  by 
every  real  science  lesson,  by  every  map,  by  every 
piece  of  apparatus,  and  by  every  laboratory  of  the 
present  day. 

The  fact  that  the  Nineteenth  Century  attached 
new  and  great  importance  to  method,  led  inevi- 
tably to  another  advance  in  education,  the  estab- 
lishing of  schools  for  the  professional  education 


30  SOME  CONTRIBUTIONS  TO 

of  teachers.  Early  in  the  century  Pestalozzi, 
after  the  failure  of  his  work  in  Stanz,  in  Burg- 
dorf,  and  Munchenbuchsee,  established  in  Yverdun 
what  was,  perhaps,  the  most  celebrated  institute 
of  which  the  history  of  education  gives  account. 
The  dominant  thought  of  its  founder  was  that, 
since  the  elevation  of  the  people  depends  upon 
their  education,  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that 
those  who  engage  in  educational  work  be  prepared 
therefor  by  special  training.  For  years  his  in- 
stitute was  the  center  of  the  greatest  pedagogic 
interest.  Many  teachers  from  European  coun- 
tries and  from  America  found  their  way  to  Yver- 
dun to  study  under  the  direction  of  Father  Pesta- 
lozzi and  his  assistants.  The  Prussian  govern- 
ment, for  example,  sent  seventeen  young  men  to 
take  a  three-year  course  in  order  that  they  might 
return  to  their  fatherland  prepared,  as  the  Prus- 
sian minister  of  instruction  said,  "not  only  in  mind 
and  judgment,  but  also  in  heart,  for  the  high 
function  they  were  to  follow."  It  was  the  spirit 
of  Pestalozzi  which  these  young  men  and  others 
imbibed,  and  which  was  infused  into  the  German 
schools,  and  which  has  made  the  schools  of  that 
nation  famous  for  pedagogic  excellence.  From 
the  Germans  other  nations  have  borrowed  the  idea 
of  professional  training  and  to-day  teachers' 
seminaries,  colleges  for  the  training  of  teachers, 
normal  schools,  and  schools  of  education  in  uni- 
versities furnish  the  most  positive  evidence  that 
the  doctrine  of  special  education  for  teachers  is 


EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS  31 

one  which  this  century  will  not  be  called  upon  to 
establish.  The  attitude  of  universities,  which  are 
the  most  conservative  of  all  institutions  of  learn- 
ing, instead  of  being  hostile  to  this  doctrine,  is 
distinctly  favorable.  During  the  last  quarter  of 
a  century  all  the  leading  universities  of  America 
have  provided  for  instruction  especially  planned 
for  men  and  women  who  expect  to  adopt  teaching 
as  their  vocation.  Occasionally  in  university  cir- 
cles even  yet  one  hears  that  scholarship  is  the 
sole  qualification  for  successful  teaching;  but  this 
opinion,  which  is  expressed  by  persons  who  draw 
conclusions  from  insufficient  data,  is  certainly  ob- 
solescent, if  it  has  not  already  reached  the  stage 
of  the  obsolete. 

The  Nineteenth  Century,  furthermore,  decided 
that  education  should  not  be  confined  to  the  privi- 
leged few,  the  clergy  and  the  nobles.  The  doc- 
trine of  universal  education  which  Comenius  had 
advocated  in  the  Seventeenth  Century  had  to  wait 
for  two  hundred  years  or  more  to  receive  practical 
recognition.  Even  Rousseau,  the  great  apostle 
of  human  rights  in  the  Eighteenth  Century, 
frankly  said  that  men  in  the  lowly  walks  of  life 
have  no  need  of  education.  But,  in  the  last  hun- 
dred years,  in  all  civilized  lands,  provision  has 
been  more  or  less  adequately  made  for  the  in- 
struction of  all  classes  and  conditions  of  society, 
females,  as  well  as  males,  the  poor,  as  well  as  the 
rich. 

In  order  that  this  idea  of  universal  education 


32  SOME  CONTRIBUTIONS  TO 

might  become  effective  it  was  necessary  that  it 
be  placed  under  the  control  of  the  state.  For 
ages  the  church  had  been  the  dominant  power  in 
the  management  of  schools,  and,  notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  tuition  was  free  to  paupers,  large 
numbers  of  the  people,  even  in  the  most  enlight- 
ened countries,  were  illiterate.  For  many  reasons 
the  failure  of  the  church  to  provide  education 
for  all,  and  education  of  the  right  kind,  was  in- 
evitable. Early  in  the  Nineteenth  Century  the 
new  doctrine  that  education  for  the  masses  should 
be  added  to  the  functions  of  the  state,  received  a 
wonderful  impulse  from  the  labors  of  Pestalozzi, 
who  may  be  justly  considered  the  father  of  pop- 
ular education.  Fichte's  addresses  to  the  Ger- 
man nation,  delivered  in  Berlin  shortly  after  the 
victory  of  the  French  at  Jena  in  1806,  had 
marked  effect  in  producing  the  conviction  that 
education  is  fundamentally  necessary  to  the  up- 
building of  a  nation.  The  king  of  Prussia  him- 
self was  persuaded  to  this  belief,  saying,  "We 
have  lost  in  territory,  our  power  and  credit  have 
fallen ;  but  we  must,  and  will,  go  to  work  to  gain 
in  power  and  credit  at  home.  It  is  for  this  rea- 
son that  I  desire  above  everything  that  the  great- 
est attention  be  given  to  the  education  of  the 
people."  It  is  a  well-known  story  how  the  develop- 
ment of  an  efficient  system  of  popular  schools  re- 
generated the  German  states,  and  how  it  resulted 
finally  in  the  wiping  out  the  disgrace  of  Jena 
with  the  victory  at  Sedan  and  the  triumphant 


EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS  33 

entry  of  the  German  troops  into  the  capital  of 
France,  and  how  France,  in  turn,  learning  a 
valuable  lesson  from  her  calamity,  at  once  began 
active  work  to  rebuild  her  fallen  fortunes  through 
the  ministry  of  education.  In  the  last  twenty- 
five  years  she  has  established  and  equipped  an  edu- 
cational system  upon  which  she  is  expending  im- 
mense sums  of  money,  and  which  is  destined  to 
unify  and  strengthen  all  the  forces  of  her  national 
life.  In  England  and  her  dependencies,  in  other 
nations  of  Europe,  and  even  in  far-off  Japan  the 
idea  of  public  education  has  taken  deep  root. 

In  our  own  country,  however,  which,  above  all 
others  cherishes  the  ideals  of  democracy,  has  the 
cause  of  public  education  received  the  most  loyal 
support.  The  national  government  has  rendered 
liberal  aid  by  setting  aside,  as  an  endowment  for 
public  education  from  the  public  domain,  86,138,- 
473  acres  of  land,  an  area  greater  than  the  com- 
bined areas  of  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Vermont, 
Connecticut,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  New 
York,  New  Jersey,  Maryland,  and  Delaware. 
The  value  of  the  lands  and  of  the  money  which 
have  been  devoted  by  congress  to  educational  pur- 
poses amounts,  according  to  Commissioner  Harris, 
to  almost  $300,000,000. 

But  the  appropriations  of  the  national  govern- 
ment are  but  a  small  per  cent,  of  the  expenditures 
for  public  schools  in  America.  The  general  gov- 
ernment, aside  from  maintaining  a  bureau  for 
the  purpose  of  gathering  statistics  and  dissemi- 


34  SOME  CONTRIBUTIONS  TO 

nating  information  upon  the  various  phases  of 
educational  work,  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  con- 
trol of  public  schools.  The  maintaining  and  di- 
rection of  these  schools  are  undertaken  by  each  of 
the  several  states.  The  statistics  compiled  by 
the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education  give 
us  some  idea  of  the  seriousness  with  which  the 
problem  has  been  attacked  by  the  states  of  the 
American  Union.  In  1897-8  the  number  of  pupils 
enrolled  in  the  public  elementary  and  secondary 
schools  in  the  United  States  was  15,030,030.  In 
the  instruction  of  these  pupils  nearly  500,000 
teachers  were  engaged,  while  the  value  of  the 
property  used  for  school  purposes  was  not  far 
from  a  billion  dollars.  To  defray  the  necessary 
expenses  of  this  vast  work,  a  sum  averaging 
$18.06  per  pupil  and  equal  to  a  tax  of  $4.27  upon 
every  inhabitant  of  the  country  was  expended. 

But  America  has  not  rested  content  with  pro- 
viding only  elementary  and  secondary  education 
at  public  expense ;  many  of  the  states  have 
founded  universities,  which  are  supported  by  pub- 
lic endowments  and  revenues.  It  is  true  that  the 
extension  of  public  education  to  include  university 
training  has  met  with  determined  opposition ;  but 
the  same  arguments  that  have  been  made  against 
public  education  in  any  form  are  the  very  reasons 
that  have  been  advanced  against  public  higher 
education.  It  is  reasonable  to  conclude,  there- 
fore, that  these  arguments  which  have  been  un- 
able to  stay  the  resistless  march  of  the  elementary 


EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS  35 

and  the  secondary  public  school,  will  not  be  able 
to  retard  to  any  great  degree  the  progress  of 
the  state  university.  Surely  the  lover  of  democ- 
racy can  rejoice  in  this  great  contribution  of  the 
Nineteenth  Century — state  education,  which,  the- 
oretically at  least,  has  the  primer  at  one  end 
and  graduate  work  in  the  university  at  the  other, 
an  achievement  more  colossal  than  the  building 
of  the  pyramids  and  more  glorious  than  the  con- 
quests of  Alexander. 

Yet  another  contribution  of  the  Nineteenth 
Century  consists  in  the  development  of  industrial 
and  technological  education.  For  centuries  the 
so-called  learned  professions,  medicine,  law,  and 
theology,  monopolized  the  time  and  the  thought 
of  educated  men.  It  was  not  believed  that  a 
really  comprehensive  education  was  necessary  for 
those  who  were  to  engage  in  industrial  and  com- 
mercial pursuits;  but  the  great  development  of 
material  resources  in  the  Nineteenth  Century, 
amounting,  practically,  to  revolution,  required 
that  the  old  wasteful  and  unscientific  methods  em- 
ployed in  the  production,  manufacture  and  dis- 
tribution of  commodities  must  be  abandoned,  and 
that  the  world's  industrial  affairs  must  be  man- 
aged by  men  especially  trained  for  their  work. 
Hence  arose  the  scientific  and  technical  schools. 
It  would  be  interesting  to  trace  the  history  of 
these  schools,  but  the  limits  of  this  paper  for- 
bid. There  is  one  thing,  however,  to  which  it 
may  be  well  to  call  attention.  The  thoroughly 


36  SOME  CONTRIBUTIONS  TO 

modern  technological  school  has  two  purposes, 
one  of  which  is  to  afford  training  for  special  pur- 
suits, the  other,  which  is,  in  fact,  the  more  fun- 
damental and  without  which  the  former  cannot 
be  obtained,  is  to  furnish  in  large  measure  such 
instruction  as  is  necessary  to  a  liberal  education. 
The  technological  school  of  the  highest  type  is 
not  confined  in  its  operation  to  the  teaching  of 
trades  or  the  making  of  tradesmen:  it  is  equally 
concerned  in  the  making  of  men. 

In  this  paper  I  can  only  barely  mention  two 
other  contributions.  The  first  is  the  kinder- 
garten, the  function  of  which  is  to  give  systematic 
training  to  children  too  young  to  enter  the  ele- 
mentary school;  and  the  second  is  university  ex- 
tension work,  the  many  forms  of  which  are  de- 
signed to  benefit  men  and  women  who  are  pre- 
vented by  the  force  of  circumstances  from  pur- 
suing their  studies  in  school  and  college. 

In  conclusion,  let  us  inquire,  What  is  the  sig- 
nificance of  all  these  contributions?  Upon  what 
principle  can  be  explained  the  accomplishment  of 
a  task  so  stupendous  as  to  involve,  first,  the  most 
radical  changes  with  respect  to  the  aim  in  educa- 
tion; second,  the  vast  expansion  of  the  culture- 
material  to  accomplish  this  aim;  third,  the  dis- 
covery and  application  of  scientific  method  in 
instruction;  fourth,  the  provision  for  the  profes- 
sional education  of  teachers;  fifth,  the  organiza- 
tion and  the  partial  development  of  gigantic  sys- 
tems of  public  instruction  at  public  expense ;  sixth, 


EDUCATIONAL  PROGRESS  37 

the  increase  of  the  number  of  the  learned  profes- 
sions by  recognizing  the  dignity  of  the  applied 
sciences;  and  lastly,  the  extension  of  the  privi- 
lege of  education  to  the  child  in  the  kindergarten 
and  the  parent  in  his  home?  There  can  be  but 
one  answer — it  is  the  spirit  of  real  humanism, 
the  spirit  of  social  democracy,  which  is  the  dis- 
tinctive characteristic  of  the  Nineteenth  Century, 


Ill 


HERBERT  SPENCER'S  INDIVIDUALITY 

AS  MANIFESTED  IN  HIS  EDUCA- 

CATIONAL  THINKING  l 

The  educational  world  is  greatly  indebted  to 
more  than  one  outsider  for  valuable  criticism  and 
direction.  The  beneficial  influence  of  Rousseau's 
"Emile"  despite  its  many  palpable  absurdities, 
cannot  be  easily  overestimated.  Montaigne, 
Bacon,  and  other  men  who  were  not  practical 
teachers,  have  contributed  in  no  small  degree  to 
the  art,  as  well  as  the  science,  of  teaching.  Her- 
bert Spencer,  also,  finds  a  place,  and  a  com- 
manding place,  among  this  class  of  man's  bene- 
factors, for  the  fact  that,  when  he  was  only  sev- 
enteen years  of  age,  he  served  as  a  supply- 
teacher  for  three  months,  does  not  justify  us  in 
enrolling  him  in  the  ranks  of  the  schoolmaster. 

In  this  paper  it  is  obviously  impossible  to  dis- 
cuss many  of  the  important  questions  in  educa- 
tion about  which  Spencer  has  written  with  so 
great  a  vigor  and  persuasiveness.  Your  atten- 
tion is,  therefore,  invited  to  a  hasty  presentation 

iA  paper  read  in  Atlanta,  Georgia,  February  24,  1904, 
in  a  symposium  upon  the  educational  theories  and  work  of 
Herbert  Spencer,  before  the  Department  of  Superintend- 
ence of  the  National  Educational  Association. 

38 


HIS  EDUCATIONAL  THINKING      39 

of  only  one  topic,  Spencer's  individuality  as  mani- 
fested in  his  educational  thinking. 

In  dealing  with  school  problems,  as  with  those 
in  other  fields  of  thought,  Herbert  Spencer  was 
singularly  free  from  the  influence  of  traditional 
opinion,  and  was,  at  the  same  time,  little  moved 
by  the  beliefs  of  his  contemporaries.  In  his  last 
work,  published  in  1902,  is  found  this  sentence, 
disclosing  his  marked  individualistic  type  of  mind : 
"Early  in  life  it  became  a  usual  experience  for  me 
to  stand  in  a  minority — often  a  small  minority, 
sometimes  approaching  a  minority  of  one." 

Quick,  in  his  "Educational  Reformers,"  very 
properly  devotes  a  chapter  to  Spencer,  in  whom 
are  to  be  found  the  essential  attributes  of  lead- 
ers in  reform — ability,  disposition,  and  courage 
to  expose  error,  however  old  and  well-beloved,  and 
to  champion  the  truth,  however  new  and  unpopu- 
lar. 

The  four  essays  on  education  which  Spencer 
contributed  to  British  magazines  in  1854,  1858, 
and  1859  are  almost  fierce  in  denunciation  of  the 
educational  theories  and  practices  of  his  times. 
It  is  no  wonder  that  many  conventional  school 
men  in  the  English-speaking  world  read  his  phil- 
ippics with  mingled  feelings  of  disgust  and  dis- 
may. If  Spencer  were  right,  they  were  wrong; 
if  his  teaching  should  triumph,  theirs  would  be- 
come discredited.  Teachers  of  the  classics,  es- 
pecially, looked  upon  him  as  the  chief  of  the 
Philistines,  and  with  tongue  and  pen  sought  to 


40      SPENCER'S  INDIVIDUALITY  IN 

punish  him  for  what  they  called  his  pedagogic 
presumption  and  wickedness.  It  is  believed  (and 
I  share  the  opinion)  that  he  erred  greatly  in  his 
estimate  of  the  value  of  Latin  and  Greek,  that  he 
did  not  accord  to  the  languages  and  literatures 
of  the  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans  the  high  cul- 
ture-value they  actually  possess.  It  is  thought, 
furthermore,  by  some  eminent  educators,  our 
own  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education 
among  the  number,  that  Spencer's  conception  of 
the  educational  value  of  the  fine  arts,  including 
literature,  the  noblest  of  them  all,  is  not  to  be 
justified  upon  grounds  either  a  priori  or  a  pos- 
teriori. Still  other  objections  are  urged  against 
his  conclusions  with  respect  to  what  knowledge 
should  find  a  place  in  the  instruction  of  children 
and  youth ;  but,  in  spite  of  the  floods  of  criticism 
that  have  swept  over  his  essay  treating  of  what 
knowledge  is  of  most  worth,  the  unprejudiced 
student  of  educational  history  will  not  fail  to 
honor  him  for  valiant  championship  of  the  cause 
of  natural  science.  It  is  because  of  the  work  of 
Spencer,  Huxley,  Agassiz,  Eliot  and  other  great 
leaders  in  education,  that  the  studies  pertaining 
to  the  natural  world  have,  at  length,  gained  ad- 
mission to  the  charmed  circle  of  the  liberal  arts. 
Even  in  our  own  day  are  to  be  found  educated 
men  who  yet  regard  these  studies  with  indiffer- 
ence or  distrust ;  but  a  half-century  ago  Spencer 
was  not  far  from  speaking  the  literal  truth  when 
he  said: 


HIS  EDUCATIONAL  THINKING       41 

"Had  there  been  no  teaching  but  such  as  is  given 
in  our  public  schools,  England  would  now  be  what 
it  was  in  feudal  times.  That  increasing  acquaint- 
ance with  the  laws  of  phenomena  which  has  through 
successive  ages  enabled  us  to  subjugate  Nature  to 
our  needs,  and  in  these  days  gives  the  common 
laborer  comforts  which  a  few  centuries  ago  kings 
could  not  purchase,  is  scarcely  in  any  degree  owed 
to  the  appointed  means  of  instructing  our  youth. 
The  vital  knowledge — that  by  which  we  have  grown 
as  a  nation  to  what  we  are,  and  which  now  underlies 
our  whole  existence — is  a  knowledge  that  has  got  it- 
self taught  in  nooks  and  corners  while  the  ordained 
agencies  for  teaching  have  been  mumbling  little  else 
but  dead  formulas." 

Again,  in  the  closing  paragraph  of  the  essay 
in  which  science  is  lauded  for  both  its  disciplinary 
and  its  practical  value,  he  was  not  wholly  wrong, 
though,  perhaps,  not  altogether  just  to  the  tra- 
(Jitional  curriculum.  That  paragraph  reads  as 
follows : 

"We  must  say  that  in  the  family  of  knowledges, 
Science  is  the  household  drudge,  who,  in  obscurity, 
hides  unrecognized  perfections.  To  her  has  been 
committed  all  the  work;  by  her  skill,  intelligence,  and 
devotion  have  all  the  conveniences  and  gratifications 
been  obtained;  and,  while  ceaselessly  occupied  min- 
istering to  the  rest,  she  has  been  kept  in  the  back- 
ground, that  her  haughty  sisters  might  flaunt  their 
fripperies  in  the  eyes  of  the  world.  The  parallel 
holds  yet  further.  For  we  are  fast  coming  to  the 


42       SPENCER'S  INDIVIDUALITY  IN 

denouement ,  when  the  positions  will  be  changed;  and, 
while  these  haughty  sisters  sink  into  merited  neglect, 
science,  proclaimed  as  highest  alike  in  worth  and 
beauty,  will  reign  supreme/* 

The  denouement  has  been  reached,  but  with  a 
different  result  from  that  prophesied  by  Spencer 
in  1859,  for  neither  science  nor  the  classics  nor 
mathematics  nor  philosophy  nor  any  other  sub- 
ject is  now  allowed  to  exercise  dominion  over  her 
sister-subjects  or  even  to  display  aristocratic  airs 
in  their  presence.  Thanks  to  the  characteristic 
spirit  of  this  age,  there  has  been  firmly  estab- 
lished not  only  democracy  among  men,  but  also 
democracy  among  studies,  including  even  the  sci- 
ence and  art  of  education. 

From  what  has  just  been  said,  one  would  con- 
clude that,  in  his  plea  for  the  teaching  of  sci- 
ence, Spencer  refers  to  natural  science  alone. 
With  him,  however,  science  is  a  much  more  com- 
prehensive term,  including  the  new  subjects  (the 
natural  sciences)  and,  also,  the  old  subjects,  but 
the  old  subjects  so  transformed  by  rational  think- 
ing as  to  render  them  practically  new.  For  his- 
tory, language,  and  other  human-nature  subjects 
as  he  found  them,  he  had  no  word  of  commenda- 
tion whatever,  strenuously  insisting  that,  only 
through  the  understanding  of  the  science  of  these 
subjects,  can  results  in  anywise  desirable  be  at- 
tained. What  he  means  by  knowing  the  science 
of  a  subject  he  expresses  in  many  different 


HIS  EDUCATIONAL  THINKING       43 

phrases,  some  of  which  are  here  given:  "Knowl- 
edge of  realities,"  "knowledge  of  constitution  of 
things,"  "knowledge  of  the  content  of  things,  not 
of  mere  symbols,"  "organized  knowledge,"  "ra- 
tional knowledge,"  "knowledge  of  general  truths," 
''knowledge  of  fundamental  principles,  or  laws" — 
with  all  of  which  ideas  the  modern  conception  of 
education  is  in  hearty  accord.  He  nowhere  bet- 
ter sets  forth  his  view  concerning  the  dominating 
spirit  of  science  than  in  this  description  of  the 
scientific  man: 

"While  towards  the  traditions  and  authorities  of 
men  its  attitude  [the  attitude  of  science]  may  be 
proud,  before  the  impenetrable  veil  which  hides  the 
Absolute  its  attitude  is  humble — a  true  pride  and  a 
true  humility.  Only  the  sincere  man  of  science  (and 
by  this  title  we  do  not  mean  the  mere  calculator  of 
distances,  or  analyzer  of  compounds,  or  labeler  of 
species;  but  him  who  through  lower  truths  seeks 
higher,  and  eventually  the  highest) — only  the  genu- 
ine man  of  science,  we  say,  can  truly  know  how  ut- 
terly beyond,  not  only  human  knowledge,  but  human 
conception,  is  the  Universal  Power  of  which  Nature, 
and  Life,  and  Thought  are  manifestations." 

Herbert  Spencer,  not  content  with  attacking 
the  traditional  curriculum,  pleads  vigorously  for 
reform  in  the  theory  and  practice  of  the  several 
phases  of  education.  In  place  of  ignorant,  if 
not  wicked,  neglect  of  training  of  the  body,  he 
prays  for  scientific  physical  education;  in  place 


44      SPENCER'S  INDIVIDUALITY  IN 

of  arbitrary  and  artificial  means  of  moral  de- 
velopment, he  asks  that  rational  and  natural 
plans  be  adopted;  and,  in  place  of  the  old-time 
principles  of  authority  and  pain  in  educating  the 
intellect,  he  advocates  with  convincing  eloquence 
the  doctrines  of  self-activity  and  interest.  In 
these  several  departments  of  education  he  called 
upon  men  everywhere  to  repent,  and  he  may  not 
improperly  be  called  the  educational  John  the 
Baptist  of  the  Nineteenth  Century. 

But  some  school  superintendent  or  college  pro- 
fessor who  finds,  for  reasons  familiar  to  us  all, 
his  tenure  of  office  more  or  less  precarious,  may 
retort  that  it  is  very  easy  for  a  great  layman 
like  Spencer  to  play  reformer;  that  the  school- 
master, on  the  other  hand,  must  needs  be  a  more 
timorous  soul;  that  he  cannot  afford  to  break 
with  his  environment,  especially  with  that  part 
of  it  which  includes  the  board  giving  him  employ- 
ment, for  there  is  danger  that  another  locality 
will  most  probably  be  added  to  the  itinerary  of 
his  professional  life.  It  is  not  to  be  disputed  that 
the  teacher  has  long  been  extremely  diplomatic, 
not  to  say  lacking  in  nerve,  when  brought  face- 
to-face  with  progressive  measures.  It  is  none  the 
less  his  business  to  cultivate  that  open-minded- 
ness  to  truth  and  that  courage  of  conviction  char- 
acteristic of  Spencer,  for  personal  independence 
is  an  unmistakable  attribute  of  manhood,  and  the 
first  great  qualification  of  the  teacher  is  that  he 
be  a  man.  Of  course,  in  manifesting  his  academic 


HIS  EDUCATIONAL  THINKING       45 

freedom  and  in  laboring  for  reform,  it  is,  by  no 
means,  necessary  that  one  abandon  the  sense  of 
the  righteous  opportunist  or  the  speech  and  the 
behavior  of  the  well-bred  gentleman. 

Again,  it  may  be  suggested  that  Spencer,  hav- 
ing neither  wife  nor  children,  could  well  afford  to 
stand  on  the  firing  line  of  educational  reform. 
Death  under  such  circumstances  would  not  in- 
volve unoffending  victims.  In  reply  to  this  view 
it  may  be  said  that,  if  a  man  love  houses  and 
lands,  wife  and  children,  more  than  he  loves  truth, 
he  is  not  made  of  the  sterner  stuff  the  reformer 
needs.  Furthermore,  to  him  who  falters  in  the 
discharge  of  professional  duty,  these  words  of 
the  Psalmist  bring  consolation  and  courage:  "I 
have  been  young  and  now  am  old ;  yet  have  I  not 
seen  the  righteous  forsaken  nor  his  seed  begging 
bread."  It  is  well  also  to  remember  that  courage 
is  born  of  doing  things,  and  that  the  world  is 
now  looking,  as  never  before  in  the  history  of 
the  race,  for  men  able  and  willing  to  think  their 
own  thoughts,  and  then  to  act  upon  their  own 
responsibility. 

Time  is  left  to  call  attention  in  briefest  word 
only  to  the  fact  that  Spencer's  individualistic 
spirit  was  so  intense  as  to  prevent  him  from  tol- 
erating or  even  seeing  the  natural  trend  toward 
social  unity.  When  but  twenty-two  years  of  age, 
he  published  in  the  Nonconformist  an  article  em- 
phatically condemning  the  education  of  the  peo- 
ple as  a  function  of  government.  In  "Facts  and 


46       SPENCER'S  INDIVIDUALITY  IN 

Comments,"  published  only  a  year  before  his 
death,  he  reaffirms  his  belief  that  state  education 
is  both  unjust  and  unwise.  This  view  is  sadly  out 
of  harmony  with  that  of  the  modern  pedagogue, 
philosopher,  and  statesman.  If  there  is  any  one 
sign  of  our  times  more  significant  than  any  other, 
it  is  that  the  state,  with  ever-increasing  activity, 
is  to  provide  for  all  the  people  genuine  education, 
which  involves  far  more  than  intellectual  train- 
ing (a  fact  not  taken  into  account  by  Spencer), 
and  which  has  for  its  supreme  purpose  the  en- 
richment of  institutional  life  through  the  gener- 
ous development  of  the  free,  self-active  spirit  of 
the  individual.  In  ancient  Sparta  man  belonged, 
body  and  soul,  to  the  state,  there  being  two  in- 
evitable results — the  atrophy  of  the  spontaneity 
of  the  individual  and,  in  consequence,  the  final 
overthrow  of  the  state  itself.  In  the  eighteenth 
century  individualistic  sanctions  became  sovereign, 
and  the  individual,  as  well  as  the  state,  was  com- 
pelled to  endure  the  Reign  of  Terror.  The  mod- 
ern state,  realizing  the  necessity  of  both  indi- 
vidual strength  and  social  solidarity,  seeks, 
through  proper  educational  means,  to  harmonize 
these  two  forces,  which  are,  at  times,  apparently 
antagonistic,  but  which,  in  reality,  are  mutually 
helpful.  It  is  strange,  indeed,  that  so  plain  a 
lesson  in  history  did  not  reveal  itself  to  the  great 
mind  that  gave  to  the  world  the  term,  Evolution. 
The  fundamental  educational  principle,  over-em-' 
phasized  by  Spencer,  that  the  sanctity  of  the  in- 


HIS  EDUCATIONAL  THINKING       47 

dividual  human  being  should  be  kept  inviolate, 
needs  to  be  supplemented  by  a  second  great  prin- 
ciple, that  of  social  service,  which  is  destructive 
of  individualism  but  not  of  individuality — a  prin- 
ciple which  conditions  the  material  and  the  spir- 
itual progress  of  humanity. 


IV 


THE  DETERMINING  FACTORS  OF  THE 

CURRICULUM  OF  THE  SECONDARY 

SCHOOL  1 

Since  the  days  of  ancient  Greece  the  curriculum 
of  the  secondary  school  has  undergone  many 
changes.  As  educational  ideals  have  been  modi- 
fied, at  times  even  to  the  point  of  revolution,  so 
courses  of  study  have  been  as  often  recast.  One 
of  the  most  encouraging  truths  which  is  revealed 
by  even  a  dilettantish  study  of  the  history  of  edu- 
cation is  that  a  compulsory  curriculum  for  all  suc- 
ceeding generations  of  men  is  not  only  undesira- 
ble, but  also  positively  impossible.  This  paper, 
therefore,  without  attempting  to  set  up  a  curri- 
culum to  be  worshiped  by  the  schoolmasters  of  the 
present  and  future,  will  be  restricted  to  the  dis- 
cussion of  general  principles  which  should  guide 
intelligent  authorities  in  mapping  out  the  work 
of  the  secondary  school.  These  principles  will 
be  briefly  discussed  under  two  heads,  viz.:  (1) 
Civilization  as  a  great  determining  factor;  and 
(2)  the  individual  student  to  be  educated  as  the 
other. 

iA  paper  read  in  "Waco,  Texas,  December  27,  1901,  be- 
fore the  Texas  State  Teachers'  Association.  Printed  in  the 
School  Review  of  October,  1902,  and  included  in  this  vol- 
ume by  permission  of  the  publishers. 

48 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOL  49 

I.    CIVILIZATION   AS   A   DETERMINING   FACTOR 

The  school  is  not  an  artificial  institution  ex- 
isting for  and  by  itself.  It  finds  its  reason-to-be 
in  the  needs  of  civilized  life,  and  its  chief  glory 
in  ministering  to  those  needs.  Man  is  pre- 
eminent in  the  animal  kingdom  because  he  is  an 
institution-building  animal,  his  highest  wisdom 
being  displayed  when  he  perfects  the  school,  by 
which  insight  is  attained  into  other  forms  of  in- 
stitutional life,  and  by  which,  as  a  result  of  this 
insight,  civilization  is  strengthened  and  enriched. 
If  the  doctrine  be  accepted  that  the  school  is 
maintained  for  the  sake  of  civilization,  it  follows 
that  the  arbitrary,  artificial  curriculum,  born  of 
pedantry,  or  of  zeal  not  according  to  knowledge, 
or  of  anything  else  tending  to  divorce  the  school 
from  the  world  and  its  work,  is  not  to  be  tolerated. 
The  one  great  question,  the  correct  answer  to 
which  will  determine  the  culture-material  seeking 
recognition  in  the  secondary  school  is:  Does  it 
have  such  characteristics  as  give  it  organic  re- 
lationship with  the  development  of  man  for  in- 
telligent and  effective  service  in  and  for  civiliza- 
tion? 

It  would  not  be  difficult  to  frame  a  curriculum 
which  would  conduce  more  or  less  to  the  training 
of  the  so-called  faculties  of  the  mind,  and  which 
would,  nevertheless,  have  little,  if  any,  value  so 
far  as  the  demands  of  civilized  life  are  concerned. 
As  illustrations  of  this  truth,  one  easily  calls  to 


50  THE  CURRICULUM  OF 

mind  the  folly  of  scholasticism  and  of  all  forms 
of  ascetic  education.  The  important  fact  to  be 
kept  steadily  in  mind,  is  that  it  is  the  civilization 
of  the  present  (emphasis  being  placed,  of  course, 
upon  its  higher  elements  which  are  ever  looking 
forward  to  the  evolution  of  the  future  civilization 
from  that  of  the  present),  which  is  to  exercise  de- 
termining power  with  respect  to  the  studies  to 
be  Assigned  to  the  secondary  school.  The  em- 
peror of  Germany,  in  his  opening  address  at  the 
famous  school  conference  in  1890,  manifested  at 
least  partial  comprehension  of  the  importance  of 
adjusting  school  programs  to  modern  needs,  as 
the  following  extract  from  that  address  gives  evi- 
dence : 

"The  main  trouble  lies  in  the  fact  that  since  1870 
the  philologists  have  sat  in  their  Gymnasien  as  beati 
possidentes,  laying  main  stress  upon  the  subject- 
matter,  upon  the  learning  and  the  knowing,  but  not 
upon  the  formation  of  character  and  upon  the  needs 
of  life.  Less  emphasis  is  being  placed  upon  practice 
[&ownew]  than  theory  \kennen~\,  a  fact  that  can 
easily  be  verified  by  looking  at  the  requirements  for 
examinations.  Their  underlying  principle  is  that  the 
pupil  must,  first  of  all,  know  as  many  things  as  pos- 
sible. Whether  this  knowledge  fits  for  life  or  not,  is 
immaterial.  If  anyone  enters  into  a  discussion  with 
these  gentlemen  on  this  point,  and  attempts  to  show 
them  that  a  young  man  ought  to  be  prepared,  to  some 
extent  at  least,  for  life  and  its  manifold  problems, 
they  will  tell  him  that  such  is  not  the  function  of  the 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOL  51 

school,  its  principal  aim  being  the  discipline  or  gym- 
nastic of  the  mind,  and  that,  if  this  gymnastic  were 
properly  conducted,  the  young  man  would  be  capable 
of  doing  all  that  is  necessary  in  life.  I  am  of  the 
opinion  that  we  can  no  longer  be  guided  by  this  doc- 
trine. 

"To  return  to  schools  in  general  and  to  the  Gym- 
nasium in  particular — I  will  say  that  I  am  not  ig- 
norant of  the  fact  that  in  many  circles  I  am  looked 
upon  as  a  fanatical  opponent  of  the  Gymnasium,  and 
that  I  have  therefore  often  been  played  as  a  trump- 
card  in  favor  of  other  schools.  Gentlemen,  this  is 
a  misapprehension.  Whoever  has  been  a  pupil  of  a 
Gymnasium  himself,  and  has  looked  behind  the 
scenes,  knows  where  the  wrong  lies.  First  of  all,  a 
national  basis  is  wanting.  The  foundation  of  our 
Gymnasium  must  be  German.  It  is  our  duty  to  edu- 
cate men  to  become  young  Germans,  and  not  young 
Greeks  or  Romans.  We  must  relinquish  the  basis 
which  has  been  the  rule  for  centuries,  the  old  monas- 
tic education  of  the  middle  ages,  when  Latin  and  a 
little  Greek  [einbisschen  Griechisch]  were  most  im- 
portant. These  are  no  longer  our  standard;  we  must 
make  German  the  basis,  and  German  composition 
must  be  made  the  center  around  which  everything  else 
revolves."  2 

I  have  intimated  that  the  German  emperor's 
insight  into  the  matter  at  issue  was  only  partial. 
His  idea  that  the  schools  of  the  German  nation 
are  to  cultivate  Germans,  should  it  have  free  and 
unlimited  course  would  forever  arrest  the  develop- 
2  Educational  Review,  Volume  1,  pp.  202-3. 


52  THE  CURRICULUM  OF 

ment  of  Germany  at  the  civic  grade  of  culture? 
making  it  then  impossible  for  her  to  arrive  at  the 
higher  stage  of  human  culture,  which  is  the  domi- 
nant idea  in  modern  civilization.  The  doctrine 
for  which  this  paper  contends  is,  not  that  the 
school  should  make  only  Germans,  or  Americans, 
or  Englishmen,  but  that  the  all-controlling  pur- 
pose of  the  schools  of  every  nation  should  be  to 
make  men  who,  by  no  means  delinquent  with  re- 
spect to  civic  duties,  have  an  abiding  sense  of 
their  obligations  to  humanity.  The  lives  of  such 
men  are  in  harmony  with  the  spirit  and  the  letter 
of  the  declaration  of  the  Roman  emperor,  "As 
Antonine,  my  country  is  Rome;  as  a  man,  the 
world." 

It  is  this  doctrine  of  real  humanism  in  which 
Huxley  believed,  his  faith  being  nowhere  more 
clearly  expressed  than  in  this  paragraph,  to  be 
found  in  his  address  delivered  in  1868  at  the  South 
London  Working  Men's  College : 

"The  politicians  tell  us  that  you  must  educate  the 
masses  because  they  are  going  to  be  masters.  The 
clergy  join  in  the  cry  for  education,  for  they  affirm 
that  the  people  are  drifting  away  from  church  and 
chapel  into  the  broadest  infidelity.  The  manufactur- 
ers and  the  capitalists  swell  the  chorus  lustily.  They 
declare  that  ignorance  makes  bad  workmen,  that 
England  will  soon  be  unable  to  turn  out  cotton  goods 
or  steam  engines  cheaper  than  other  people;  and  then 
Ichabod!  Ichabod!  the  glory  will  be  departed  from 
us.  A  few  voices  are  lifted  up  in  favor  of  the  doc- 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOL  53 

trine  that  the  masses  should  be  educated  because  they 
are  men  and  women  with  unlimited  capacities  for 
being,  doing,  and  suffering,  and  that  it  is  as  true  now 
as  it  ever  was  that  the  people  perish  for  lack  of 
knowledge."  3 

Huxley  was  too  broad  to  be  only  a  Briton.  He 
understood  that  the  common  element  in  humanity, 
reason,  is  that  which  makes  human  culture  pos- 
sible, and  that,  in  proportion  as  this  element, 
rather  than  the  accidental  circumstance  of  nativ- 
ity or  race  or  power  or  wealth,  is  honored  in  a 
nation,  is  the  true  life  of  the  nation  advanced  and 
are  the  higher  interests  of  humanity  subserved. 
One  could  not,  for  example,  doubt  that,  if  both  the 
British  and  the  Boers  had  been  guided  by  the 
dictates  of  reason,  the  war  in  South  Africa  would 
have  been  impossible;  and  that,  if  Spain,  in  her 
conduct  toward  the  Cubans,  had  been  reasonable, 
she  would  not  have  lost  her  possessions  in  the 
Western  World. 

The  contention  that  the  curriculum  of  the  sec- 
ondary school  should  be  fashioned  according  to 
the  ideals  of  modern  life,  implies  that  past  sys- 
tems of  education  in  their  totality  are  to  be  looked 
upon  with  suspicion,  for  they  prevailed  in  times 
far  different  from  our  own,  and  they  were  main- 
tained to  suit  views  of  life  in  many  particulars 
directly  at  variance  with  the  notions  we  moderns 
cherish.  It  is  not  contended,  however,  that  every- 

3  Huxley's   "Science  and  Education  Essays,*'  p.  77. 


54  THE  CURRICULUM  OF 

thing  in  the  past  is  to  be  ignored,  simply  because 
it  is  in  the  past.  One  can  conceive  of  no  stronger 
evidence  of  educational  insanity  than  failure  to 
recognize  that  the  present  is  the  result  of  evolu- 
tion from  the  past,  and  that  existing  ideals  are 
but  the  union  of  past  ideals  which,  by  reason  of 
their  permanent  value,  have  survived. 

Taking  it  for  granted  that  no  one  will  question 
the  claim  of  modern  civilization  to  be  a  determin- 
ing factor  in  the  formation  of  the  curriculum  of 
the  modern  secondary  school,  it  may  be  well  to  re- 
view the  more  important  particular  lines  of  cul- 
ture this  factor  determines. 

In  the  first  place,  training  in  language  is  of 
primary  importance.  As  Aristotle  pointed  out 
centuries  ago,  language,  constituting  as  it  does 
a  characteristic  difference  between  man  and  brute, 
makes  possible  bonds  of  social  union  founded  upon 
the  needs  other  than  those  of  mere  nature,  and 
consequently  furnishes  an  indispensable  basis  for 
human  culture.  It  is  through  the  real  study  of 
language  that  insight  is  to  be  gained  into  the 
nature  of  thought,  and  it  is,  therefore,  language- 
study  that  forms  an  important  part  of  the  great 
thought-group  of  studies  in  the  world  of  learning. 
Any  instruction  in  language  which  regards  the 
mere  forms  of  thought  as  of  transcendent  impor- 
tance, and  which  disregards  the  real  thought  it- 
self, tends  to  cultivate  a  habit  largely  prevalent 
even  in  our  own  day,  the  habit  of  talking  volubly 
without  actually  saying  anything. 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOL  55 

The  study  of  language,  furthermore,  furnishes 
the  means  whereby  the  pupil  may  become  pos- 
sessed of  that  great  inheritance  to  which  he  is 
entitled,  and  which  embraces  the  greatest  of  all 
the  arts,  literature.  There  is  no  surer  evidence 
of  the  highly  civilized  man  than  that  he  is  a  lover 
and  a  reader  of  the  best  books,  those  books  which 
reveal  with  transcendent  beauty  and  power  the 
struggles  of  the  human  spirit  toward  the  realiza- 
tion of  its  highest  ideals.  If  the  educational  sys- 
tem of  the  old  Greeks  has  in  it  any  lesson  for  the 
schoolmaster  of  to-day,  it  is  this:  The  nation 
which  cultivates  assiduously  in  the  minds  of  the 
young  the  knowledge  and  appreciation  of  great 
classics  is  engaged  in  a  work  of  the  highest  prac- 
tical importance,  for  it  is  doing  that  which  vitally 
affects  its  own  moral  and  spiritual  welfare,  and 
it  is  as  true  with  respect  to  nations  as  to  indi- 
viduals that  only  moral  and  spiritual  excellence 
can  endure — a  truth  which  may  be  overlooked  in 
these  days  of  territorial  expansion,  of  billion- 
dollar  industrial  investments,  and  of  stupendous 
material  development  in  every  direction. 

The  subject  of  language-study  may  be  looked 
at  from  another  standpoint.  In  the  elementary 
school  the  pupil  learns  in  an  empirical  and  frag- 
mentary way  something  of  his  own  language;  in 
the  secondary  school  he  should  begin  the  reflective 
study  of  the  vernacular  in  order  that  he  may 
eventually  gain  such  mastery  of  it  as  will  insure 
him  the  ability  to  use  it  with  ease,  precision,  and 


56  THE  CURRICULUM  OF 

power.  The  belief,  widespread  for  many  centu- 
ries, that  the  youth  could,  without  sustained  and 
systematic  effort,  acquire  this  ability,  has  not  un- 
til our  own  day  manifested  signs  of  obsolescence. 
Leaders  of  educational  thought  are  now,  how- 
ever, agreed  that  the  "acquisition  of  a  competent 
knowledge  of  English  is  not  an  easy,  but  a  labo- 
rious undertaking,  for  the  average  youth — not 
a  matter  of  entertaining  reading,  but  of  serious 
study;  that  indeed  there  is  no  subject  in  which 
skilled  and  systematic  instruction  is  of  greater 
value."  4  With  respect  to  paying  serious  atten- 
tion to  the  vernacular,  the  ancient  Greeks  have 
given  the  world  another  valuable  lesson,  for  their 
linguistic  training  was  acquired  exclusively 
through  the  medium  of  their  own  tongue,  other 
languages  being  absolutely  proscribed. 

The  folly  of  attempting  to  substitute  a  foreign 
language  for  the  vernacular  in  the  training  of 
the  young  is  nowhere  illustrated  better  than  in 
the  utter  failure  of  the  famous  schoolmaster, 
Sturm,  in  his  experiment,  carried  on  for  a  long 
series  of  years  in  Strassburg.  With  a  determi- 
nation which  would  brook  no  opposition,  he  en- 
deavored to  restore  the  long-lost  skill  in  the  use 
of  the  two  great  languages  of  the  Greeks  and 
Romans.  He,  accordingly,  prohibited  both  teach- 
ers and  pupils  from  conversation  in  German. 
Even  games  were  not  permissible  without  the  con- 
dition that  the  speech  employed  therein  be  con- 

*  Eliot,  "Educational  Reform,"  pp.  99-100. 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOL  57 

fined  to  Latin.  His  aim,  which  was  to  denational- 
ize the  young  Germans,  was  not  forgotten  by  him 
for  a  moment.  His  lengthy  and  detailed  direc- 
tions to  the  teachers  of  the  several  grades  in  every 
instance  had  direct  bearing  upon  the  accomplish- 
ment of  his  great  purpose,  which  was  to  see  the 
men  of  his  own  age  writing,  haranguing,  and 
speaking  Greek  and  Latin  with  power  equal  to 
that  which  flourished  in  the  noblest  days  of 
Athens  and  Rome.  After  more  than  forty  years 
spent  in  earnest  endeavor  to  accomplish  his  cher- 
ished ideal,  he  himself  confessed  his  total  failure ; 
but,  strange  to  say,  he  ascribed  the  cause  of  fail- 
ure to  the  teachers  and  himself,  and  not  to  the 
fact  that  Latin  was  not  the  native  tongue  of  the 
boys  he  had  been  training.  Nevertheless,  even 
Sturm  could  not  help  realizing  that  eloquence  is 
by  no  means  confined  to  Latin,  for  he  observed 
that  Italians,  Spaniards,  Frenchmen  and  Ger- 
mans could  be  eloquent  in  their  own  tongues. 
Concerning  Luther,  he  said: 

"Had  there  been  no  Reformation,  had  the  sermons 
of  Luther  never  appeared,  and  had  he  written  noth- 
ing at  all  save  his  translation  of  the  Bible,  this  alone 
would  have  insured  him  an  immortality  of  fame. 
For,  if  we  compare  with  this  German  translation 
either  the  Greek,  the  Latin,  or  any  other,  we  shall 
find  that  they  are  all  far  behind  it  both  in  perspicu- 
ity, purity,  choice  of  expression,  and  resemblance  to 
the  Hebrew  original.  I  believe  that,  as  no  painter 
has  ever  been  able  to  surpass  Apelles,  so  no  scholar 


58  THE  CURRICULUM  OF 

will   ever   be   able   to   produce   a   translation   of   the 
Bible  that  shall  excel  Luther's."  6 

But,  because  the  work  of  the  world  demands 
that  each  worker  be  familiar  with  his  own  lan- 
guage, and  be  able  to  levy  great  contributions 
upon  it,  it  is  by  no  means  certain  that  the  modern 
secondary  school  should  be  patterned  after  that  of 
ancient  Greece  by  forbidding  the  study  of  a  foreign 
language.  The  Committee  on  College  Entrance 
Requirements,  in  its  report  made  to  the  Na- 
tional Education  Association  in  1899,  is  distinctly 
favorable  to  the  study  of  foreign  language.  It 
is  not  necessary,  I  take  it,  to  enter  into  an  ex- 
tended argument  to  show  the  justice  of  this  posi- 
tion. The  value  of  the  literatures  of  Greece  and 
Rome  can  be  questioned  by  no  scholar.  How 
these  literatures  are  inextricably  interwoven  with 
the  modern  literatures  is  evident  upon  the  most 
superficial  examination.  It  is,  therefore,  easy  to 
conclude  that  the  study  of  ancient  literature  will 
directly,  as  well  as  indirectly,  aid  one  in  the  ap- 
preciation of  modern.  Furthermore,  the  lin- 
guistic training  to  be  derived  from  the  study  of 
a  foreign  language,  ancient  or  modern,  is  of  posi- 
tive value  with  respect  to  the  vernacular.  There 
is  no  better  training  in  English  than  that  which 
requires  a  translation  from  a  foreign  tongue  into 
the  idiom  of  our  vernacular.  The  opinion  is  here 
advanced  that  by  high-school  students  that  will 

B  Barnard's  "German  Teachers  and  Educators,"  p.  222. 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOL  59 

not  go  to  college,  as  well  as  by  those  that  will 
have  the  privilege  of  instruction  in  higher  in- 
stitutions, benefit  of  the  highest  order  is  to  be 
derived  from  three  or  four  years'  study  of  at 
least  one  foreign  language. 

Another  human-nature  study  which  is  demanded 
by  modern  times  is  that  of  history.  The  value 
of  this  subject  for  guidance  and  also  for  discipline 
has  in  recent  years  been  acknowledged.  History 
is  not  concerned  so  much  with  names  and  dates 
and  isolated  facts  as  it  is  with  human  motives 
connected  therewith.  It  is  not  so  much  interested 
in  any  given  set  of  details  as  it  is  with  the  prin- 
ciples by  which  those  concrete  data  are  bound  to- 
gether in  a  series  of  causes  and  results.  The 
study  of  history  should,  therefore,  afford  the  stu- 
dent a  basis  for  the  interpretation  of  modern  life. 
It  is  believed  that  the  stage  of  adolescence,  which 
is  the  high-school  stage,  is  a  particularly  oppor- 
tune time  for  the  study  of  that  subject  which 
deals  with  the  significance  of  human  action,  and 
which  gives  to  the  youth  entering  upon  the  transi- 
tion stage  just  preceding  manhood  conceptions  of 
many-sided  human  nature.  In  the  elementary 
school  the  child  is  taught  through  stories  and 
narratives  and  biographies  many  things  which 
will  be  of  service  in  his  future  historical  study; 
but  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  this  elementary 
work  is  scarcely  to  be  considered  as  real  history. 
The  world  needs  men  that  are  students  of  rela- 
tions, that  can  gather  facts,  classify  them,  and  in- 


60  THE  CURRICULUM  OF 

terpret  them,  and  that  can  understand  processes 
of  transformation  of  idea  into  reality.  Cer- 
tainly, there  is  no  greater  demand  made  upon 
the  citizen  of  a  modern  state  than  to  be  able  to 
do  just  such  thinking  as  is  required  in  anything 
like  an  adequate  study  of  history. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  discuss  at  length  other 
secondary-school  subjects  determined  by  modern 
civilization ;  but  they  cannot  be  dismissed  without 
a  word.  The  intricate  and  almost  infinite  appli- 
cation of  mathematics  to  the  industrial  arts  is 
sufficient  justification  for  its  place  in  the  program 
of  the  secondary  school.  Mathematics  is  the  tool 
by  which  man  has  conquered  nature,  and  it  must 
forever  remain  an  effective  instrument  for  min- 
istering to  man's  comfort  and  convenience.  Its 
disciplinary  value  has  been  greatly  overrated,  be- 
cause it  has  been  believed  to  extend  to  fields  of 
discipline  to  which,  by  reason  of  its  nature  and 
limitations,  it  must  forever  be  foreign;  but  its 
value  for  the  training  of  observation  and  reason- 
ing with  respect  to  the  phenomena  of  its  own  field, 
is  incalculable  and  indispensable,  and  civilization 
is  in  no  whimsical  mood  when  she  demands  that  the 
school  afford  excellent  opportunity  for  the  acquire- 
ment of  mathematical  knowledge  and  discipline. 

The  great  natural-science  realm  of  learning 
has  likewise  received  the  unmistakable  approval 
of  modern  civilization.  The  time  was  when  it  was 
considered  unworthy  and  even  impious  to  study 
the  phenomena  of  nature.  Within  the  last  cen- 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOL  61 

tury,  however,  through  the  marvelous  contribu- 
tions of  science,  she  has  demonstrated  her  worth 
as  a  necessary  factor  in  human  life.  It  may  be 
truly  asserted  that  more  and  greater  changes 
have  been  wrought  by  science  upon  our  material 
life  within  the  last  few  years  than  have  been 
wrought  in  any  thousand  years  before  the  nine- 
teenth century.  It  may  be  said,  furthermore, 
that  the  method  of  science,  as  well  as  its  progress, 
has  no  small  effect  upon  the  spiritual  side  of  man, 
for  its  method  is  the  only  true  method  to  be  em- 
ployed in  the  study  of  any  problem,  endeavoring, 
as  it  does,  to  cultivate  an  open  attitude  of  mind, 
the  love  of  truth,  the  willingness  to  adopt  it, 
and  the  courage  to  stand  for  it,  when  once 
adopted.  If  the  school  is  to  be  kept  in  touch 
with  real  life,  it  cannot  afford  to  neglect  this 
great  group  of  subjects,  which  is  admirably 
adapted  to  give  the  youth  such  training  as  will 
enable  him  to  feel  at  home  in  this  world,  and  to 
face  it,  at  least,  without  fear. 

Again,  the  needs  of  modern  life  make  large 
drafts  upon  the  physical  forces  of  man.  In  no 
former  age  of  the  world  have  health  and  strength 
and  endurance  been  so  desirable  and  so  necessary. 
That  the  obligations  to  meet  these  demands  are 
scarcely  acknowledged  by  the  makers  of  school 
programs,  is  no  evidence  that  the  obligation  does 
not  exist.  It  has  been  demonstrated  beyond  all 
doubt,  and  over  and  over  again,  that  development 
of  mind  without  training  of  the  body  is  a  useless, 


62  THE  CURRICULUM  OF 

riot  to  say  a  wicked,  system  of  education,  and  yet 
adequate  provision  for  physical  training  is  to  be 
found  in  comparatively  few  secondary  schools  in 
America.  Here  is  an  opportunity  for  a  reform 
to  be  led  by  an  educational  crusader  worthy  to 
rank  with  Pestalozzi  and  Horace  Mann. 

Let  me  briefly  recapitulate  the  discussion  up 
to  this  point:  (1)  Civilization  is  a  determin- 
ing factor  of  the  curriculum  of  the  secondary 
school.  (2)  The  civilization  that  is  a  deter- 
mining factor  is  modern  civilization.  (3)  Mod- 
ern civilization  requires  that  the  secondary  school 
curriculum  provide  (a)  for  physical  training; 
(6)  for  language,  including  the  vernacular  and 
foreign  tongues;  (c)  for  representatives  of  other 
great  groups  of  subjects  pertaining  to  human 
nature;  and  (d)  for  yet  other  groups  of  studies 
relating  to  the  natural  world.6 

To  summarize  the  whole  matter,  modern  civili- 
zation requires  that  the  many-sided  phases  of 
modern  life  which  are  concerned  with  problems 
pertaining  to  the  external  and  internal  worlds, 
be  considered  as  the  objective  basis  of  the  cur- 
riculum, and  that  due  regard  be  paid  to  each  of 
these  several  phases.  To  adopt  a  fragmentary 
view  by  over-emphasizing  a  study  adapted  to  one 
phase  only,  is  the  result  of  distorted  vision,  and 
will,  in  the  end,  defeat  its  own  purpose.  All 
forms  of  human  activity  are  sacred,  and  all  sub- 

6  Among  these  groups  is,  of  course,  the  industrial  group 
— manual  training,  domestic  science,  agriculture,  etc. 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOL  63 

jects  having  for  their  ultimate  purpose  the  de- 
velopment of  these  several  activities  are  both  im- 
portant and  honorable. 

But,  while  it  is  demanded  that  representatives 
of  all  the  great  groups  of  learning  be  found  in 
the  school  curriculum,  our  civilization,  more  than 
any  other  the  world  has  ever  known,  believes  in 
the  wisdom  of  division  of  labor,  and,  consequently 
does  not  ask  that  the  curriculum  be  the  same  for 
all  pupils,  regardless  of  qualifications  and  regard- 
less of  individual  characteristics  and  interests. 
This  statement  leads  to  the  discussion  of  the 
second  determining  factor  of  the  curriculum  of 
the  secondary  school. 

II.    THE    INDIVIDUAL    AS    A    DETERMINING 
FACTOR 

By  a  certain  class  of  present-day  educators 
who  are  guilty  of  the  folly  of  setting  up  a  theory 
and  then  compelling  facts  to  conform  thereto,  it  is 
argued  that  the  wisdom  and  experience  of  school- 
masters should,  at  least  by  this  time,  have  been 
able  to  evolve  a  uniform  course  of  study  well 
suited  to  all  youths  aspiring  to  a  liberal  educa- 
tion. The  human  mind  is  ever  searching  for  uni- 
fying principles,  and  it  is  no  wonder  that  it  has 
been  a  favorite  doctrine  of  teachers  that  there 
is  one  plan  of  education,  in  comparison  with  which 
other  schemes  are  decidedly  inferior.  For  years 
in  the  olden  time  the  trivium,  consisting  of  gram- 
mar, rhetoric,  and  dialectics,  was  considered  the 


64  THE  CURRICULUM  OF 

sacred  trinity  of  the  secondary  school;  and  it 
is  a  well-known  fact  that  since  the  curriculum  of 
the  Renaissance  was  enthroned  in  the  pedagogic 
heart,  many  of  the  greatest  scholars  and  great- 
est teachers  have  honestly  believed  that  in  Latin, 
Greek,  and  mathematics  is  to  be  found  another 
sacred  trinity,  and  that  they  are  the  only  dis-^ 
ciplinary  studies  par  excellence.  No  one  can  ex- 
aggerate the  blessings  to  the  human  race  follow- 
ing the  discovery  of  the  languages  and  literature 
of  Greece  and  Rome.  For  the  revival  of  hu- 
manism, whose  chief  instruments  were  the  classics, 
the  modern  world  cannot  have  too  great  rever- 
ence; of  the  intrinsic  values  of  Latin  and  Greek 
and  mathematics  as  means  of  culture  to-day,  it 
would  be  difficult  to  form  too  high  an  estimate. 
But,  in  order  to  accord  high  honor  to  these  three 
subjects,  it  is  not  necessary  to  declare  that  they 
shall  be  studied  by  all  people  desirous  of  obtain- 
ing a  thorough  education.  To  prescribe  them 
for  all  students  simply  because  of  their  discipli- 
nary value  is  assuming  that  all  minds  are  pat- 
terned after  a  common  mold  and  are,  therefore, 
responsive  to  the  same  forms  of  discipline.  The 
belief  that  there  is  a  uniform  boy  is  a  myth,  and 
any  system  of  education  founded  upon  that  myth 
is  irrational. 

It  is  just  at  this  point  that  the  modern  graded 
school  system  is  most  vulnerable.  The  greatest 
weakness  of  that  system,  and  the  one  which  in  re- 
cent years  has  been  most  clearly  pointed  out, 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOL  65 

is  the  policy  which  makes  the  idea  of  uniformity 
dominant,  the  policy  which  is  founded  upon  the 
delusion  which  contends  that  all  children  are  born 
with  equal  and  like  powers  of  mind,  and  that 
the  same  treatment  of  these  powers  in  different 
individuals  will  produce  the  same  results.  Now, 
upon  even  slight  observation  and  reflection,  every 
one  reaches  the  conclusion  that  children  are  not 
born  equal  as  to  mental  power  any  more  than 
they  come  into  this  world  equal  with  respect  to 
physical  being.  Everyone  knows  that  even  chil- 
dren found  in  the  same  family  manifest  the  great- 
est differences  as  to  mental  characteristics  and 
adaptations.  Any  institution,  therefore,  which 
by  uniform  treatment  seeks  to  destroy  the  person- 
ality of  the  individual,  is  pursuing  a  policy  which 
prevents  both  the  individual  and  society  from 
enjoying  the  development  of  his  peculiar  talents 
to  the  highest  degree. 

In  the  selection  of  culture-material  for  the  ele- 
mentary school,  it  is  not  so  necessary  to  regard 
the  characteristic  differences  of  children,  because 
the  elementary  course  of  study  is  primarily  in- 
tended to  place  the  child  in  possession  of  the 
school  arts,  which  he  will  afterward  use  regard* 
less  of  the  branches  of  learning  his  special  pow- 
ers and  interests  may  lead  him  to  undertake. 
This  view  of  the  elementary  school  is  itself  ques- 
tioned by  some;  but  the  student  in  the  secondary 
school  has  certainly  reached  the  age  when  he  be- 
gins to  disclose  his  individual  interests,  and  school 


66  THE  CURRICULUM  OF 

authorities  can  perform  no  greater  service  to  him 
and  to  the  world  than  to  furnish  him  abundant 
opportunity  to  follow  the  lead  of  his  special  apti- 
tudes. If  the  secondary  school  were  so  conducted 
as  to  convince  parents  that  it  furnishes  every 
youth  what  is  best  for  himself,  and  if  the  youth 
were  likewise  possessed  of  the  same  idea,  we  would 
never  again  be  called  upon  to  listen  to  a  series  of 
answers  to  the  question,  Why  are  so  few  boys  to 
be  found  in  the  higher  grades  of  the  public 
schools? 

That  colleges  and  universities  are  recognizing 
the  wisdom  of  consulting  the  needs  of  the  indi- 
vidual is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  their  courses 
of  study  are  largely  optional.  In  our  own  coun- 
try there  is  not  a  reputable  institution  of  higher 
learning  in  which  the  old  four-year  curriculum, 
prescribed  for  all  students,  obtains.  In  Germany 
for  many  years  absolutely  free  election  of  univer- 
sity courses  has  prevailed.  The  American  uni- 
versities have  further  shown  their  disregard  of 
the  idea  of  uniformity  by  allowing  different  stud- 
ies to  be  presented  for  entrance.  The  president 
of  the  oldest  university  in  this  country,  in  his 
annual  report  of  1896-7,  thus  expressed  the  view 
which  has  year  by  year  been  gaining  in  popular- 
ity among  thoughtful  students  of  education: 

"The  future  attitude  of  Harvard  is  likely  to  be, 
not  continued  insistence  upon  certain  school  studies 
as  essential  preparation  for  college,  but  insistence 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOL  67 

that  the  gate  to  university  education  should  not  be 
closed  on  the  candidate  in  consequence  of  his  omis- 
sion at  school  of  any  particular  studies,  provided 
that  his  school  course  has  been  so  composed  as  to  af- 
ford him  a  sound  training  of  some  sort.  .  .  . 
Harvard  University  has  long  represented  the  princi- 
ple of  election  of  college  studies,  and  has  found  noth- 
ing but  advantage  in  the  application  of  that  princi- 
ple. It  is  natural  that  the  college  should  seek  to 
further  the  adoption  of  the  same  principle  in  sec- 
ondary schools  and  in  requirements  for  admission  to 
college." 

The  University  of  Texas  is  in  harmony  with 
the  modern  view  on  this  subject,  for  the  only  ab- 
solute requirements  for  entrance  are  English  and 
elementary  mathematics  (algebra  and  plane 
geometry).  The  history  requirement  may  be  ab- 
solved in  four  different  ways — by  presenting  gen- 
eral history  or  American  history  or  English  his- 
tory or  by  a  combination  of  English  and  Ameri- 
can history.  The  other  entrance  requirements 
are  elective.  Of  foreign  languages  one  or  more 
may  be  selected  from  the  group  composed  of 
Latin,  Greek,  French,  German,  and  Spanish,  and 
the  privilege  of  election  is  extended  to  the  nat- 
ural sciences,  physiology  and  hygiene,  physical 
geography,  botany,  physics,  and  chemistry.7 

7  In  1910  these  subjects  also  are  included:  Civics,  manual 
training,  solid  geometry,  and  trigonometry,  bookkeeping, 
domestic  science,  and  agriculture.  Advanced  entrance  re- 
quirements obtain,  furthermore,  with  respect  to  English, 
foreign  language,  and  the  natural  sciences. 


68  THE  CURRICULUM  OF 

The  chief  objection  urged  against  any  attempt 
to  consult  the  special  preference  and  capacity  of 
the  high-school  pupil  is  the  contention  that  the 
policy  of  election,  founded,  as  it  is,  upon  the  doc- 
trine of  interest,  will  lead  the  pupil  to  avoid  the 
performance  of  any  task  not  particularly  agree- 
able to  himself.  Now,  no  one  questions  the  great 
desirability  of  training  the  student  to  habits  of 
industry.  Educational  thinkers  of  every  faith 
and  order  unite  in  the  belief  that  all  the  functions 
of  the  school  have  ultimately  but  one  purpose — 
to  add  to  the  number  of  the  world's  patient,  con- 
tinuous, effective  workers;  but  the  objection  just 
now  mentioned  does  not  correctly  represent  the 
results  of  the  application  of  the  principle  of  elec- 
tion. The  charge  itself  is  open  to  criticism,  for 
it  is  founded  upon  a  misconception  of  the  doc- 
trine it  attacks.  The  great  value  derived  from 
the  performance  of  a  disagreeable  task  arises, 
not  from  the  fact  that  the  task  is  disagreeable, 
but  because  it  is  organically  related  with  a  de- 
sirable object.  The  adult  whose  life  is  one  round 
of  disagreeable  acts,  having  no  connection  with 
agreeable  results,  is  not  living  the  life  a  human 
being  ought  to  live,  but  is  dragging  out  a  mis- 
erable existence,  from  which  all  joy  and  hope  are 
eliminated,  and  compared  with  which  such  slavery 
as  once  existed  in  the  South  is  a  paradise.  The 
truth  is,  that  even  the  ascetic  of  old  daily  perse- 
cuted his  body,  not  because  he  rejoiced  in  suffer- 
ing per  se9  but  because  he  gloried  in  ordering  his 


THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOL  69 

life  in  such  a  way  as  he  believed  would  eventually 
place  his  feet  upon  the  spiritual  mountain-tops, 
and  give  him  visions  of  glory  for  which  his  soul 
had  long  been  yearning. 

Again,  the  etymology  of  the  word  "interest" 
(inter  and  est)  discloses  its  educational  signifi- 
cance. Any  study  becomes  full  of  interest  in  the 
pedagogic  sense  when  the  student  rightly  con- 
siders it  vitally  connected  with  the  process  of  his 
own  self-realization.  If  this  vital  connection  be 
not  clearly  perceived  by  him,  or  at  least  strongly 
believed  by  him  to  exist,  the  fundamental  motive 
to  strong  and  persistent  effort  is  lost.  Seeing 
no  justification  for  the  burdens  laid  upon  him  in 
prosecuting  the  study,  he  refuses  to  bear  them  al- 
together or  he  expends  his  energies  in  devising 
ways  and  means  to  bear  as  few  of  them  as  pos- 
sible. The  compulsory  pursuit  of  any  distaste- 
ful study  thus  leads  the  pupil  to  be  satisfied  with 
only  partial  scholastic  success,  and  leaves  with 
him  no  stimulus  to  prosecute  that  subject  in  its 
higher  aspects.  At  the  earliest  opportunity  he 
will  not  only  refuse  to  press  forward  to  complete 
mastery;  but,  in  conformity  with  a  well-known 
law  of  the  mind,  he  will  also  proceed  to  divest 
himself,  as  nearly  as  may  be,  of  what  little  knowl- 
edge or  discipline  he  may  have  suffered  himself 
to  acquire.  This  psychological  principle  is  well 
expressed  by  Vergil,  when  he  puts  into  the  mouth 
of  JEneas  the  words,  which,  when  translated  some- 
what freely  read  as  follows :  "The  mind  shudders 


70  THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOL 

to  remember  grief,  and,  consequently,  runs  away 
from  it."  8 

To  what  extent  the  adaptation  of  the  curri- 
culum to  the  individual  student  should  be  carried, 
is  a  problem  to  which  many  solutions  may  be  of- 
fered; but  the  doctrine  which  this  paper  seeks  to 
emphasize  is  that,  no  matter  what  answer  be  given 
to  the  question  concerning  the  degree  of  election 
in  the  secondary  school,  some  form  of  election,  by 
the  student,  by  his  parents,  by  his  teachers,  or 
by  them  all  acting  conjointly,  is  indispensable  if 
his  own  capacity  and  special  talents  are  to  be  con- 
sidered and  developed. 

The  two  fundamental  doctrines  which  have  been 
treated  in  this  paper,  constitute  an  indestructible 
foundation  for  the  curriculum  of  the  secondary 
school.  Local  conditions,  and  others  not  so  lo- 
cal, now  prevent  the  adequate  application  of  these 
doctrines;  but  there  is  abundant  evidence  to  jus- 
tify the  belief  that  the  future  has  in  store  a  day 
when  the  secondary  school  will  discharge  every 
reasonable  obligation  to  the  individual  pupil  and 
to  the  civilization  of  which  his  life  is  to  be  a  com- 
ponent part.  To  help  speed  the  coming  of  that 
day  is  the  pleasure,  as  it  is  the  duty,  of  every 
lover  of  learning  and  every  lover  of  man. 

a  Vergil's  "Aeneid,"  Book  II,  1.  12. 


V 


THE  UNIFICATION  OF  COLLEGE 
DEGREES1 

At  the  last  meeting  of  this  association  a 
speaker  declared  that  "for  a  long  time  the  B.A. 
degree  has  stood  for  all  that  is  best  in  culture 
and  education."  At  this  same  meeting  President 
Charles  W.  Dabney,  of  the  University  of  Ten- 
nessee, recommended  that  "all  academic  degrees 
except  the  B.A.  and,  possibly  the  B.S.,  be  abol- 
ished." He  has  not  the  shadow  of  a  doubt  that 
the  B.A.  degree  represents  liberal  culture,  but  his 
qualification  of  "possibly"  with  respect  to  the  B.S. 
degree  may  be  taken  as  evidence  that  he  does  not 
consider  the  two  degrees  as  occupying  the  same 
plane.  In  an  address,  delivered  by  President 
Eliot,  of  Harvard,  before  the  members  of  Johns 
Hopkins  University  in  February  1884,  the  B.A. 
degree  was  said  to  be  "the  customary  evidence  of 
a  liberal  education."  Dr.  Hinsdale,  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Michigan,  referring  to  this  matter 
some  years  ago,  thus  stated  a  well-known  fact: 
"But  it  is  England  and  her  educational  depend- 

i  A  paper  read  in  Columbia,  S.  C.,  November  3,  1899, 
before  the  Association  of  Southern  Colleges  and  Prepara- 
tory Schools.  Printed  in  the  School  Review  of  February, 
1900,  and  included  in  this  volume  by  permission  of  the 
publishers. 

71 


72  THE  UNIFICATION 

encies  that  have  given  this  degree  its  highest 
standing  in  the  world  of  letters.  In  these  coun- 
tries it  has  long  been  the  badge  of  an  educated 
man."  President  Schurman,  in  a  paper  written 
in  March,  1897,  to  explain  Cornell's  action  in 
coming  to  the  one-degree  basis,  said  that  the  B.A. 
degree  has  long  stood  for  the  fullest  measure  of 
liberal  education.  But  it  is  needless  to  multiply 
witnesses ;  in  England  and  America  it  is  the  gen- 
eral belief  that  the  B.A.  degree,  above  any  other 
degree,  signifies  that  its  holder  has  pursued 
courses  of  study,  completion  of  which  ensures  a 
liberal  education. 

Nor  is  it  at  all  surprising  that  this  degree  has 
been  chosen  as  the  standard  of  culture,  for,  while 
with  respect  to  many  things  there  is  nothing  in 
a  name,  historic  facts  are  frequently  crystallized 
in  names,  as  a  short  statement  of  the  rise  of  uni- 
versity degrees  will  attest.  The  first  degrees 
granted  by  mediaeval  universities  were  Master  and 
Doctor.  They  were  first  granted  at  Salernum, 
Bologna,  and  Paris,  to  persons  who  had  demon- 
strated their  fitness  to  teach  or  to  practice  law, 
medicine,  or  theology.  These  two  titles,  which 
were  used  interchangeable,  in  the  beginning  had 
no  connection  whatever  with  the  "arts"  studies, 
university  work,  as  intimated  above,  being  con- 
fined to  professional  instruction.  Later  on,  be- 
cause of  the  fact  that  universities  were  either  the 
outgrowth  of  the  "arts"  schools,  or  were  devel- 
oped in  association  with  them,  the  "arts"  faculty 


OF  COLLEGE  DEGREES  73 

was  added  to  the  professional  faculties  of  law, 
medicine,  and  theology,  and  hence  arose  the  prac- 
tice of  conferring  the  mastership  or  doctorate 
for  proficiency  in  the  "arts"  subjects  also.  It 
is  altogether  probable  that  the  early  doctorate  or 
mastership  was  not  a  formal  degree,  but  merely 
a  license,  or  a  faculty  to  teach  (licentia  docendi, 
facultas  docendi).  It  may  not  be  improper  to 
remark  here,  by  way  of  parenthesis,  that  the  old 
universities  considered  it  their  chief  duty  to  give 
men  preparation  for  teaching  and  that  modern 
universities  are  resuming  a  function  which,  for 
causes  not  necessary  to  recount,  was  allowed  to 
lapse,  but  which  thoughtful  men  everywhere  are 
beginning  to  realize  is  a  factor  of  no  mean  im- 
portance in  the  progress  of  education. 

In  the  course  of  time  the  mastership  was  con- 
fined to  "arts"  graduates  in  the  University  of 
Paris,  an  example  which  had  great  influence  upon 
other  universities,  while  the  doctorate  was  re- 
served for  those  who  completed  their  studies  in 
one  of  the  professional  faculties,  law,  medicine, 
or  theology.  In  Germany,  however,  the  two  titles 
were  not  distinguished,  but  in  the  end  Master 
was  eliminated  and  Doctor  came  to  be  applied  to 
"arts,"  as  well  as  to  professional  studies.  Even 
the  term  "arts"  has  disappeared  and  philosophy, 
the  chief  of  the  "arts"  studies,  has  been  adopted 
instead. 

A  brief  inquiry  concerning  the  Latin  term, 
artes,  may  be  of  advantage  in  tracing  the  history 


74  THE  UNIFICATION 

of  "arts"  degrees.  The  word  studies  is,  without 
doubt,  the  best  English  equivalent  for  the  Latin, 
artes.  The  ancient  Greeks  and  Romans  did  not 
make  the  clear  distinction  between  the  arts  and 
the  sciences  that  exists  in  modern  thought.  The 
seven  liberal  arts,  which  formed  the  curriculum 
of  secondary  education  in  the  Middle  Ages,  em- 
braced (1)  the  trivium,  consisting  of  grammar 
(Latin  grammar,  to  be  sure),  dialectics,  or  logic, 
and  rhetoric;  and  (2)  the  quadrivium,  composed 
of  arithmetic,  geometry,  music,  and  astronomy. 
These  seven  studies  were  not  intended  to  give 
training  for  professional  or  industrial  life,  but 
were  designed  to  afford  that  mental  development 
which  free  men  should  enjoy.  These  "arts"  hav- 
ing been  incorporated  into  the  work  of  the  uni- 
versities, the  University  of  Paris  led  the  way  in 
establishing  the  practice  of  granting  the  degree 
of  Bachelor  of  Arts  to  boys  who,  by  completing 
the  trivium,  had  reached  the  half-way  point  in 
the  "arts"  course.  It  is  believed  that  the  prac- 
tice of  European  guilds  had  decided  influence 
upon  the  question  of  university  degrees,  for  the 
universities  were  themselves,  in  reality,  only 
guilds  of  learning.  As  mastership  in  a  guild  was 
preceded  by  a  period  of  apprenticeship,  so  mas- 
tership in  "arts"  followed  a  term  of  bachelorship. 
While  prosecuting  the  studies  of  the  quadrivium, 
it  was  also  the  duty  of  the  student,  who  had  com- 
pleted the  trivium  and  had  received  his  B.A.  de- 
gree, to  assist  the  masters  in  instructing  the 


OF  COLLEGE  DEGREES  75 

freshmen,  the  new  aspirants  for  what  might  be 
called  the  apprentice  degree  in  learning.  Upon 
receiving  his  B.A.  degree  the  youth  was  said  to 
enter  upon  arts  (incipere  in  artibus).  The  de- 
gree, consequently,  looked  forward  to  the  time 
when  the  "arts"  studies  would  be  completed  and 
when  the  bachelor  would  enter  upon  his  career 
of  mastership. 

According  to  Professor  Laurie,  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Edinburgh,  the  title  first  used  to  in- 
dicate completion  of  the  trivium  was  baccalarius, 
meaning  a  cowherd  in  the  service  of  a  farmer, 
bacca  being  low  Latin  for  cow  (vacca).  After- 
ward an  error  in  etymology,  which  intimately  con- 
nected the  laurel  berry  with  graduation,  trans- 
formed baccalarius  into  baccalaureus.  What- 
ever may  be  the  derivation  of  the  term  bachelor, 
it  is  certain  that,  up  to  the  time  of  the  great 
Renaissance,  the  B.A.  degree  was  conferred  upon 
boys  about  17  or  18  years  of  age  when  they  had 
finished  the  first  three  "arts"  studies,  grammar, 
dialectics,  and  rhetoric.  Though  this  course  oc- 
cupied the  time  of  the  student  for  three  or  four 
years,  it  would  to-day  be  considered  as  much  in- 
ferior to  the  course  of  the  modern  secondary 
school.  There  was  no  provision  made  for  the 
study  of  Latin  or  Greek  literature,  the  study  of 
Latin  being  confined  almost  entirely  to  grammar. 
Latin,  it  is  true,  was  the  language  of  the  scholars 
and  of  the  church;  but  it  was  not  taught  as  one 
of  the  "arts."  Greek  was  not  given  a  place 


76  THE  UNIFICATION 

among  the  seven  liberal  arts.  Logic  and  rhe- 
toric were  taught  in  their  elements ;  but  the  train- 
ing they  afforded,  was  derived  mainly  through 
demands  made  upon  the  verbal  memory.  The 
mathematics  given  was  of  a  superficial  character, 
while  the  astronomy  did  not  rise  above  the  dignity 
of  astrology. 

With  the  Renaissance  in  the  fifteenth  century 
came  great  changes  in  the  educational  world. 
The  rediscovery  of  the  literatures  of  ancient 
Greece  and  Rome  and  the  consequent  enthusiasm 
which  it  aroused  for  the  humanities,  and  which 
spread  over  Europe  with  incredible  rapidity,  not 
only  established  places  for  Latin  and  Greek 
among  the  "arts,"  but  also  resulted  in  making 
the  classics  almost  the  only  "arts"  taught  in  the 
schools.  The  classical  curriculum  fastened  upon 
European  nations  by  Sturm  and  Ascham,  was 
given  almost  world-wide  sovereignty  by  the 
Jesuits.  America,  as  was  natural,  followed  the 
example  of  England,  and  enthroned  the  classics. 
No  more  powerful  influence  has  appeared  in  edu- 
cational history  than  that  of  the  humanists,  with 
whom  scholarship  derived  through  the  study  of  the 
ancient  classics  became  the  ideal,  the  summum 
bonum,  and  in  fact  the  solum  bonum,  of  educa- 
tion. It  is  this  ideal  that  has  determined  the 
significance  of  the  B.A.  degree  for  hundreds  of 
years.  A  bachelor  of  arts,  up  till  very  recent 
times,  has  been  little  more  than  a  bachelor  of  the 
classics.  The  requirements  for  this  degree  were 


OF  COLLEGE  DEGREES  77 

fixed  before  many  studies  with  which  we  are  ac- 
quainted were  born.  The  modern  languages  and 
literatures,  including  English,  the  natural  sci- 
ences, and  historical  and  sociological  studies  were, 
for  the  most  part,  if  not  altogether,  either  un- 
known or  confined  to  the  contributions  of  the  old 
Greeks  and  Romans.  To  this  day  it  is  said  that, 
"if  there  is  any  branch  of  learning  in  no  way 
connected  with  Aristotle  and  Plato,  which  is  lec- 
tured on  at  Oxford,  it  is  an  oversight,"  so  tre- 
mendous has  been  the  power  of  tradition.  The 
B.A.  graduate  of  Harvard  in  the  early  days  had 
spent  four  years  engaged  chiefly  in  classical 
study,  and  had  complied  with  the  following  condi- 
tions for  graduation,  which  are  quoted  from  the 
records  of  that  institution:  "Every  scholar  that 
on  proof  is  found  able  to  read  the  originals  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testament  [and  translate]  into  the 
Latin  tongue,  and  to  resolve  them  logically, 
withal  being  of  godly  life  and  conversation,  and 
at  any  public  act  hath  the  approbation  of  the 
overseers  and  the  master  of  the  college,  is  fitted 
to  be  dignified  with  his  first  degree."  Of  course 
the  preparation  demanded  for  entrance  into  col- 
lege was  along  classical  lines.  Henry  Dunster, 
Harvard's  first  president,  formulated  admission 
requirements  as  follows:  "Whoever  shall  be 
able  to  read  Cicero  or  any  other  such  like  classical 
author  at  sight  [it  is  refreshing  to  see  this  sen- 
sible provision  for  election],  and  make  and  speak 
true  Latin  in  verse  and  prose,  suo  ut  aiunt  Marte, 


78  THE  UNIFICATION 

and  decline  perfectly  the  paradigms  of  nouns  and 
verbs  in  the  Greek  tongue :  Let  him  then  and  not 
before  be  capable  of  admission  into  college."  As 
late  as  1856  the  required  study  of  Greek  and 
Latin  occupied  at  least  two-fifths  of  the  Harvard 
student's  time.  A  great  majority  of  American 
colleges  and  universities  at  the  present  time  re- 
quire candidates  for  the  B.A.  degree  to  be  trained 
in  Latin  and  Greek  both  before  and  after  enter- 
ing upon  college  or  university  studies.  In  the 
Report  of  the  United  States  Commissioner  of 
Education  for  1896-7  there  is  given  a  tabulated 
statement  of  the  B.A.  degree  entrance  require- 
ments of  four  hundred  thirty-two  colleges  and 
universities.  Latin  is  required  by  four  hundred 
two  of  these  institutions,  both  Latin  and  Greek  by 
three  hundred  eighteen,  a  modern  language  by 
sixty.  A  modern  language  is  made  optional  with 
Greek  in  twenty-five,  while,  in  addition  to  Latin 
and  Greek,  it  is  required  by  forty-three.  Surely 
no  further  proof  is  necessary  to  show  how  strong 
is  the  hold  the  classics  have  upon  the  traditional 
B.A.  degree. 

It  is  worthy  of  note,  however,  that  the  classical 
requirements  have  lost  much  of  their  rigor.  In 
their  golden  age  they  represented  almost  the  entire 
curriculum.  Before  election  of  studies  was  known, 
the  four-year  curriculum  exacted  of  the  student 
study  of  Latin  and  Greek  throughout  his  college 
career.  Examination  of  the  B.A.  degree  require- 
ments now  in  vogue  in  this  country  reveals  the 


OF  COLLEGE  DEGREES  79 

fact  that  emphasis  is  laid  upon  the  classics  be- 
fore, rather  than  after,  the  student's  entrance 
into  college.  It  is  safe  to  assert  that  none  of 
our  leading  institutions  require  the  four-year 
study  of  either  Latin  or  Greek  in  college,  the 
great  majority  being  satisfied  if,  for  one  year, 
or  at  most  two  years,  the  student  shall  experience 
the  joys  and  sorrows  incident  to  classical  instruc- 
tion. Even  in  Oxford  University  the  require- 
ments have  been  marvelously  changed,  indeed 
revolutionized,  for  in  that  oldest  of  English  uni- 
versities, there  are  now  as  many  as  seven  avenues 
to  the  B.A.  degree,  which  is  conferred  upon  men 
completing  satisfactorily  the  work  of  any  one  of 
these  schools:  Literae  humaniores,  mathematics, 
modern  history,  theology,  jurisprudence,  natural 
science,  and  Oriental  studies.  Within  any  one  of 
these  schools  there  is  also  an  almost  indefinite 
number  of  options.  There  are,  of  course,  what 
may  be  termed  entrance  requirements  with  re- 
spect to  the  classics,  but  they  are  by  no  means 
severe,  the  Greek  texts  of  Mark  and  John,  four 
books  of  the  Anabasis  and  four  books  of  Caesar 
being  considered  sufficient.  In  Harvard  the  B.A. 
degree  can  be  granted  to  one  even  though,  during 
his  collegiate  course,  he  may  not  have  studied  the 
classics  a  single  hour.  Harvard,  nevertheless, 
still  retains  a  classical  requirement  for  entrance. 
These  facts  just  now  presented  justify  the  con- 
clusion that  the  colleges  have,  to  a  large  extent, 
broken  with  their  traditions,  and  have,  to  some 


80  THE  UNIFICATION 

degree  at  least,  adjusted  their  curricula  to  meet 
the  demands  of  a  new  social  order ;  but  they  prove 
also  that,  while  the  influence  of  the  classics  has 
waned,  it  is  yet  powerful  in  the  regulation  of 
graduation  requirements.  There  are  fewer  than 
a  half-dozen  reputable  American  institutions  in 
which  the  classics,  in  some  form  or  another,  are 
not  absolutely  prescribed  in  all,  or  nearly  all, 
the  courses  leading  to  purely  academic  degrees. 

Being  germane  to  this  discussion,  the  inquiry 
is  now  raised,  why  has  our  typical  college  course, 
which  was  inherited  from  Oxford  and  Cambridge, 
and  which  was  built  upon  the  traditional  tripos 
of  Greek,  Latin,  and  mathematics,  been  subjected 
to  so  great  changes?  In  the  first  place,  as  suc- 
cessful men  in  the  various  professions  began  to 
achieve  renown  in  the  world  of  culture  also,  even 
though  they  had  not  received  the  traditional 
scholastic  training,  it  began  to  dawn  upon  the 
minds  of  the  people  that  subjects  other  than  those 
found  in  college  courses  are  valuable  as  means 
for  mental  discipline  and  for  securing  that  in- 
definable result  known  as  culture. 

Again,  men  looked  about  them  and  observed 
that  tremendous  changes,  and  changes  conducive 
to  progress,  had  been  effected  in  all  departments 
of  human  endeavor  with  the  exception  of  the  most 
important  of  all,  that  of  education.  Herbert 
Spencer  represented  the  opinion  of  a  large  class 
of  men  when  he  declared  in  an  essay  published  in 
the  Westminster  Review  in  1859,  "If  we  in- 


OF  COLLEGE  DEGREES  81 

quire  what  is  the  real  motive  for  giving  boys  a 
classical  education,  we  find  it  to  be  simply  con- 
formity to  public  opinion.  Men  dress  their  chil- 
dren's minds  as  their  bodies,  in  the  prevailing 
fashions."  Spencer  was  far  from  being  a  utili- 
tarian of  the  baser  kind  in  education,  yet  he  con- 
demned that  practice  which,  if  it  did  not  pro- 
scribe absolutely,  assigned  a  very  insignificant 
place  to  those  knowledges  that  are  more  or  less 
positively  related  to  the  arts  of  life.  His  school 
of  educational  thinkers  criticised  the  point  of 
view  of  the  old  curriculum,  saying  that  it  looked 
almost  entirely,  if  not  altogether,  to  the  very  an- 
cient past  for  its  ideals;  that  it  emphasized  the 
history  of  ancient,  to  the  exclusion  of  modern,  na- 
tions ;  that,  without  realizing  the  power  of  the 
modern  classics,  it  glorified  the  ancient  languages 
and  literatures ;  and  that  it  almost  totally  disre- 
garded the  natural  sciences,  that  field  of  modern 
learning  by  whose  cultivation  the  world's  civiliza- 
tion has  been  born  anew.  Not  only  in  the 
mother-country,  but  also  in  America,  where  the 
practical  spirit  is  stronger,  the  clamor  for  the 
new  studies  and  the  demand  for  their  introduc- 
tion into  the  curriculum  became  so  strong  that 
one  by  one  they  were  grudgingly  admitted.  In 
many  American  institutions  they  were  considered 
as  extras  or  "side-fixings,"  and  for  years  they 
bore  the  brunt  of  flippant  jest  and  cruel  sneer. 
Nevertheless,  the  recognition,  however  slight,  of 
a  new  study  compelled  the  shortening  of  the  time 


82  THE  UNIFICATION 

that  had  been  given  to  the  traditional  studies,  for 
it  was  idle  to  demand  that  the  four-year  course 
be  increased  one  year  or  more.  As  the  new  stud- 
ies fought  their  way  into  the  colleges,  the  B.A. 
degree,  which  had  all  along  maintained  its  maj- 
esty in  the  world  of  the  liberal  arts,  gradually 
came  to  represent  less  of  classical  culture.  In 
fact  there  is  ground  for  belief  that  the  degree 
granted  by  colleges  having  a  fixed  four-year 
potpourri  curriculum  does  not  represent  culture 
of  any  kind.  The  compulsion  of  the  student  to 
devote  himself  in  rapid  succession  to  Latin,  Greek, 
mathematics,  physiology,  botany,  zoology,  his- 
tory, philosophy,  French,  German,  political  econ- 
omy, etc.,  prevented  him  from  undue  specializing, 
it  is  true;  but  it  also  stretched  out  his  breadth  of 
culture  to  so  great  a  degree  as  to  reduce  its  depth 
at  any  point  to  little,  if  any,  above  zero. 

The  great  majority  of  these  potpourri  cur- 
ricula were  arranged  without  any  regard  to  con- 
trolling doctrines  of  education.  Expediency, 
willingness  to  effect  compromises  even  at  the  cost 
of  truth,  the  strength  and  aggressiveness  of  pro- 
fessors and  regents  were  some  of  the  factors  de- 
termining whether  a  study  should  gain  promi- 
nence or  sink  into  insignificance.  These  cur- 
ricula are  rapidly  becoming  obsolete,  for  they  are 
foolish,  preposterous  and  disastrous,  and  they 
perpetrate  such  outrages  upon  the  most  elemen- 
tary educational  principles  as  cannot  be  tolerated 
in  an  age  which,  above  all  preceding  ages,  is  de- 


OF  COLLEGE  DEGREES  83 

manding  sanity,  as  well  as  zeal,  in  pedagogical 
performances.  Fourteen  weeks  in  the  study  of 
a  science  may  result  in  the  memorizing  of  a  few 
definitions  and  made-to-order  classifications;  hit- 
ting the  ground  only  in  high  places  in  traversing 
any  great  field  of  human  learning  may  cultivate  a 
certain  kind  of  mental  agility;  but  such  prac- 
tices cannot  beget  any  real  discipline. 

To  the  leaders  in  natural  science  belongs  much 
of  the  credit  for  the  improvement  of  courses  of 
study.  Encouraged  by  the  Morrill  Act,  which 
was  passed  by  Congress  in  1862,  and  of  which 
nearly  every  state  in  the  Union  has  since  taken 
advantage,  teachers  of  natural  science  demanded 
that  it  be  taught  intelligently.  None  knew  bet- 
ter than  they  that  a  smattering  of  science,  gained 
without  experience  in  the  laboratory,  is  without 
profit,  is  a  delusion  amounting  almost  to  a  crime, 
and  that  such  a  science  is  utterly  unworthy  to 
rank  with  Greek,  Latin,  and  mathematics  as  a 
liberal  art.  They  recognized  that,  far  from  be- 
ing a  liberal  art,  it  was  a  liberal  humbug  of  colos- 
sal proportions.  As  late  as  1872  Professor  Jor- 
dan, now  President  Jordan,  of  Leland  Stanford 
Junior  University,  complained  of  the  condition  of 
science  teaching.  He  was  at  that  time  professor 
of  natural  history  in  an  Illinois  college;  it  was 
his  duty  to  give  instruction  in  zoology,  botany, 
geology,  physiology,  physics,  chemistry,  miner- 
alogy, natural  theology,  and  political  economy. 
No  wonder  he  confesses  with  Spartan  brevity  that 


84  THE  UNIFICATION 

he  taught  "a  little  of  each  to  little  purpose."  2 
At  one  time  he  attempted  to  establish  a  small 
chemical  laboratory,  but  the  board  of  trustees  in- 
formed him  that  students  should  be  kept  out  of 
what  was  called  the  "cabinet"  in  order  that  the 
apparatus  might  not  be  hurt  and  the  chemicals 
wasted.  But  Professor  Jordan  and  his  col- 
leagues persisted  in  their  determination  to  dig- 
nify work  in  science.  Among  the  great  leaders 
may  be  mentioned  Agassiz,  who  may  be  regarded 
as  the  father  of  the  B.S.  degree,  and  whose  labors 
in  Harvard  marked  an  era  in  the  history  of  that 
institution.  So  thoroughly  has  the  educational 
value  of  science  been  demonstrated  that  in  all 
reputable  colleges  it  is  now  no  longer  questioned. 

Similarly  the  modern  languages  (including 
English),  history  and  the  sociological  group  of 
studies  were  raised  to  the  plane  of  the  liberal  arts. 
The  new  studies  having  gained  actual,  not  nomi- 
nal, recognition,  college  faculties  were  compelled 
to  decide  that  no  student  could  be  expected, 
within  the  short  period  of  his  academic  life,  to 
give  attention  to  all  the  subjects  in  which  instruc- 
tion was  offered.  For  this  reason  the  third  phase 
of  the  B.A.  curriculum  appeared,  the  phase 
through  which  it  is  now  passing,  and  which  has 
for  its  characteristic  feature  the  elective  system 
of  studies.  This  system,  which  prevails  to  a 
greater  or  a  less  degree  in  the  colleges  of  the 
country,  recognizes  the  inherent  value  of  all  stud- 

2  Jordan's  "Care  and  Culture  of  Men,"  p.  187. 


OF  COLLEGE  DEGREES  85 

ies,  new  as  well  as  old;  but  even  yet,  so  far  as 
the  B.A.  degree  is  concerned,  it  is  generally  held 
that  Latin,  at  least,  is  indispensable,  for  which, 
in  the  now  almost  unlimited  range  of  the  liberal 
arts,  there  is  no  adequate  substitute.  The  sys- 
tem of  election,  however,  has  greatly  modified  the 
requirements  for  this  degree,  which  is  now  con- 
ferred upon  men  and  women  that  have  pursued 
widely  varying  courses  of  study. 

The  several  courses  leading  to  the  B.A.  degree 
as  now  conferred  by  Tulane  University  represent 
fairly  well  the  evolution  of  that  degree,  the  prin- 
ciple of  election,  however,  being  somewhat  limited, 
as  it  is  confined  to  four-year  curricula  instead  of 
smaller  groups  of  subjects  or  to  individual  sub- 
jects. Tulane  has  three  B.A.  curricula.  The 
first  is  denominated  the  "Classical  Course,"  in 
which  Greek  and  Latin  are  required  in  each  of 
the  four  years,  and  mathematics  in  the  freshman 
and  sophomore  years.  That  the  Tulane  authori- 
ties believe  the  classical  to  be  the  best  of  the 
three  B.A.  courses,  this  paragraph,  taken  from 
the  catalogue  of  1898-9,  leaves  little  room  to 
doubt : 

"The  Classical  Course,  following  well-approved 
lines,  requires  both  Greek  and  Latin,  thus  affording 
to  the  student  willing  to  submit  to  the  invaluable  and 
unsurpassed  mental  discipline  of  these  studies  the  op- 
portunity to  obtain  a  solid  classical  education." 

The     "Literary     Course"     is     the     "Classical 


86  THE  UNIFICATION 

Course"  so  changed  as  to  permit  the  substitution 
of  modern  languages  for  Greek.  The  great  ma- 
j  ority  of  the  college  world  would  commend  Tulane 
for  recognizing  the  equivalence  of  Greek  and  mod- 
ern languages,  and  for  conferring  the  "arts"  de- 
gree upon  graduates  of  her  literary  course.  Too 
often  the  B.  Lit.  or  the  Ph.B.  degree  has  been 
adopted  to  gratify  those  not  able  or  willing  to 
meet  Greek  requirements,  thus  giving  also  at  the 
same  time  no  offense  to  the  defenders  of  the  old 
faith  who  maintain  that  any  change  whatever 
with  respect  to  the  traditional  requirements  of 
the  classics  for  the  "arts"  degree  would  be 
fraught  with  danger  to  the  student,  and  with 
ruin  to  the  cause  of  genuine  culture.  The 
"Latin-Scientific  Course,"  the  name  given  to  the 
third  of  Tulane's  B.A.  curricula,  requires  no 
Greek,  and  only  one  year  of  Latin.  The  fresh- 
man studies  are  the  same  as  those  prescribed  in 
the  "Literary  Course,"  while  the  remaining 
three  years'  work  is  identical  with  that  prescribed 
for  aspirants  for  the  B.S.  degree,  consisting 
largely  of  the  natural  sciences,  together  with 
mathematics  and  modern  languages.  It  is  easy 
to  understand  why  the  term  scientific  is  applied 
to  this  course,  but  why  the  prefix  Latin  occurs  is 
inexplicable  to  one  not  acquainted  with  the  his- 
tory of  the  arts  degree.  This  third  B.A.  cur- 
riculum was  established  to  meet  demands  made 
upon  the  university  authorities,  for  the  Tulane 
catalogue  informs  us  that  "it  has  been  added  to 


OF  COLLEGE  DEGREES  87 

meet  the  suggestion  of  many,  as  specially  adapted 
to  preparation  for  the  Medical  Department." 
Other  students  than  those  having  in  view  the  pro- 
fession of  medicine  are  allowed  to  pursue  the 
"Latin-Scientific  Course."  This  third  B.A.  cur- 
riculum offered  in  Tulane  fairly  represents  the 
present  degree  of  advancement  toward  the  co- 
ordination of  college  studies.  Most  men  are  now 
willing  that  the  "arts"  baccalaureate  be  conferred 
upon  a  graduate  if  only  Latin  be  one  of  the  stud- 
ies by  means  of  which  he  has  acquired  liberal  cul- 
ture. 

There  can  be  but  one  ojther  phase  in  the  evolu- 
tion of  the  B.A.  degreeT  Even  now  there  are  in- 
dications that  this  fourth  phase  is  at  hand.  Har- 
vard no  longer  requires  Greek  and  Latin  as  col- 
legiate studies,  her  classical  requirement  not  ex- 
tending beyond  the  Latin  of  the  secondary  school. 
The  eminent  Greek  scholar,  Professor  Goodwin, 
in  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  address  delivered  at  Har- 
vard in  1890,  stated  with  evident  regret,  that  a 
Phi  Beta  Kappa  man  could  graduate  from  that 
institution  without  having  read  a  word  of  Greek 
or  Latin  during  his  college  career.  Concerning 
the  decadence  of  time-honored  ideals,  he  remarked : 
"I  regret  this  breaking-up,  but  we  must  accept 
it  as  a  stubborn  fact."  Times  have  indeed  vastly 
changed  since  the  Middle  Ages,  and  educational 
ideals  also  have  changed  to  meet  the  new  require- 
ments of  the  changed  civilization.  Already  some 
of  the  leading  universities  of  America  have  ac- 


88  THE  UNIFICATION 

cepted  without  qualification  the  doctrine  of  equiv- 
alence of  studies,  and,  with  a  desire  to  foster  all 
studies,  and  to  discriminate  against  none,  have 
made  it  possible  for  the  B.A.  degree  to  be  ob- 
tained regardless  of  training  in  either  of  the  an- 
cient classics.  Some  other  institutions,  as  we 
have  seen  in  the  cases  of  Harvard  and  Tulane, 
are  not  far  from  the  adoption  of  a  similar  policy, 
for  their  absolute  classical  requirement  is  really 
of  little  consequence. 

There  is  abundant  testimony  from  another 
quarter  also.  During  the  last  ten  years  there 
has  been  much  discussion  of  problems  pertaining 
to  both  secondary  and  higher  education.  Of 
high-school  and  college  professors  there  have  been 
many  conferences,  at  some  of  which  the  question 
of  election  of  studies  has  received  no  little  con- 
sideration. At  these  conferences  it  has  been  no 
unusual  thing  to  hear  such  statements  as  these, 
which  were  made  at  a  meeting  of  the  North  Cen- 
tral Association  of  Colleges  and  Secondary 
Schools,  held  in  the  city  of  Chicago,  April  1  and 
2,  1898: 

"So  far  as  Latin  is  concerned,  it  is  a  well-known 
fact  that  the  trend  of  universities  to-day  is  in  the 
direction  of  dispensing  with  Latin  as  an  absolute 
admission  requirement.  A  student  who  is  a  candi- 
date for  the  B.A.  degree  is  now  permitted  to  enter 
Harvard,  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  Stanford, 
Cornell,  not  to  name  others,  without  Latin."  3 

s  President  Rogers,  of  Northwestern  University. 


OF  COLLEGE  DEGREES  89 

"I  was  for  thirteen  years  a  professor  of  Latin  in 
Tulane  University  at  New  Orleans.  I  love  Latin 
dearly,  but  I  am  against  requiring  it  for  all  courses 
anywhere."  * 

The  Committee  of  Ten,  which  was  appointed 
in  1895  at  the  Denver  meeting  of  the  National 
Educational  Association  to  investigate  the  ques- 
tion of  the  college-entrance  requirements,  and 
which  consisted  of  five  college  professors  and  five 
teachers  engaged  in  secondary  schools,  made  two 
or  three  preliminary  reports,  and  then  submitted 
its  final  report  last  July  as  the  result  of  four 
years'  exhaustive  study.  In  the  first  preliminary 
report,  made  in  1896  by  Chairman  Nightingale, 
himself  a  man  trained  in  the  classics  as  a  student 
and  for  more  than  twenty  years  as  a  teacher,  an 
honored  member  of  many  classical  conferences, 
occurs  this  paragraph,  which  represents  the  views 
of  a  great  number  of  teachers  in  the  secondary 
schools : 

"College  courses  ought  to  be  so  adjusted  that  every 
pupil,  at  the  end  of  a  secondary  course,  recognized 
as  excellent  both  in  the  quality  and  quantity  of  its 
work,  may  find  the  doors  of  every  college  swinging 
wide  to  receive  him  into  an  atmosphere  of  deeper  re- 
search and  higher  culture  along  lines  of  his  mental 
aptitudes.  We  do  not  mean  that  secondary  courses 
should  be  purely  elective,  but  that  this  elasticity, 
based  upon  psychological  laws,  should  be  recognized 

*  President  Jesse,  of  Missouri  State  University. 


90  THE  UNIFICATION 

by  the  colleges.  There  is  no  identity  of  form,  either 
in  mind  or  matter,  in  the  natural  or  the  spiritual 
world,  and,  since  power  to  adapt  one's  self  to  the 
sphere  for  which  nature  designed  him  is  the  end  of 
education,  every  student  should  find  the  college  and 
university  the  means  by  which  that  power  may  be 
secured.  If  this  principle  is  correct — and  who  shall 
prove  its  fallacy? — why  is  not  the  degree  of  B.S. 
or  Ph.B.  of  equal  dignity  and  worth  with  that  of 
A.B.?  Or,  in  other  words,  why  should  not  all  de- 
grees be  abolished  or  molded  into  one  which  shall 
signify  that  a  man  or  woman  has  secured  that  higher 
education  best  suited  to  his  talents  and  the  far- 
reaching  purposes  of  his  life?" 

In  the  last  report  of  the  Committee  is  to  be 
found  a  series  of  recommendations  in  the  form  of 
resolutions,  the  sixth  of  which  advocates  four 
units,  i.e.,  four  years  of  training  in  foreign  lan- 
guage study  as  a  college  admission  requirement, 
and  as  a  constant  in  the  course  of  study  of  the 
secondary  school.  Truly  Professor  Goodwin 
made  no  mistake  when  he  said  that  we  must  ac- 
cept the  breaking-up  of  old  ideals  as  a  stubborn 
fact. 

Whether  many  other  American  institutions  will 
follow  the  lead  of  Cornell  and  Stanford  and  adopt 
the  policy  of  conferring  B.A.  without  regard  to 
the  classics,  cannot  be  foretold  with  certainty. 
The  fourth  stage  in  the  evolution  of  the  degree 
may  have  a  fatal  attack  of  arrested  development, 
but  the  evidences,  only  an  insignificant  portion  of 


OF  COLLEGE  DEGREES  91 

which  has  been  given  in  this  paper,  are  sufficiently 
strong  to  create  the  belief  that  Latin,  as  well  as 
Greek,  must  become  reconciled  to  its  "manifest 
destiny,"  and  must  be  content  with  holding  a 
rank  no  more  distinguished  than  that  held  by 
other  studies  that  are,  and  of  right  ought  to  be, 
classified  among  the  liberal  arts. 

A  brief  examination  of  baccalaureate  degrees 
other  than  B.A.  is  not  foreign  to  this  discussion, 
for  the  new  studies  have  not  only  made  extensive 
invasions  upon  the  B.A.  curriculum,  but  have  also 
fortified  themselves  by  means  of  separate,  inde- 
pendent curricula  leading  to  new  degrees.  His- 
torically considered,  so  far  as  America  is  con- 
cerned, the  first  genuine  recognition  given  the 
new  studies  was  the  creation  of  the  new  degrees. 
The  old  studies  had  been  so  long  associated  with 
the  old  degree  that  the  humanists  were  unwilling 
then,  as  many  are  to-day,  to  disturb  a  union  be- 
lieved to  be  sacred,  while  the  apostles  of  the  mod- 
ern subjects  were  ready,  if  not  eager,  to  estab- 
lish a  new  academic  degree  which  they  hoped 
would,  in  the  course  of  time,  be  considered  equal, 
in  fact  superior,  to  the  traditional  degree.  The 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Science  was  first  conferred 
in  this  country  in  1851  upon  the  four  members 
of  the  graduating  class  of  the  Lawrence  Scientific 
School,  Joseph  Le  Conte  and  David  Ames  Wells 
being  among  the  number. 

The  B.S.  degree  was  in  the  beginning  greatly 
handicapped,  both  because  it  was  considered  in- 


92  THE  UNIFICATION 

ferior  and  because  it  was  distinctly  inferior  to 
B.A.  At  Harvard  the  requirements  for  admis- 
sion into  the  Lawrence  Scientific  School  were  de- 
cidedly less  rigorous  than  the  regular  entrance 
requirements  of  the  college.  Nearly  a  half  cen- 
tury this  inequality  was  maintained,  for  in  Presi- 
dent Eliot's  report  for  1897-8  we  read: 

"The  most  important  piece  of  work  accomplished 
by  the  Faculty  of  Arts  and  Sciences  for  the  year 
under  review  was  the  revision  of  the  requirements 
for  admission  to  Harvard  College  and  the  Lawrence 
Scientific  School.  .  .  .  The  faculty  had  also 
agreed  upon  a  preliminary  statement  of  the  terms  of 
admission  to  the  Lawrence  Scientific  School,  which 
involved  a  gradual  raising  of  the  admission  require- 
ments for  that  school  to  substantial  equality  with 
those  of  the  college,  although  the  range  of  acceptable 
subjects  was  larger  than  in  the  college.*' 

In  another  paragraph  of  the  same  report  there 
is  evidence  that  the  elder  Agassiz's  dream  of 
breaking  up  the  old  college  routine  had  been  al- 
most, if  not  altogether,  realized.  "The  status 
of  the  scientific  student  in  Cambridge,"  says  Dr. 
Eliot,  "has  completely  changed  within  ten  years; 
he  is  no  longer  an  outsider,  but  a  comrade  and  an 
equal  of  the  college  student  in  every  respect.  He 
has  the  same  rights  in  the  same  building  and  as- 
sociations; is  eligible  to  the  same  clubs,  teams, 
and  crews ;  shares  with  the  candidates  for  the  A.B. 
the  delights  and  charges  of  Class  Day,  and  gradu- 


OF  COLLEGE  DEGREES  93 

ates  on  the  same  day  after  the  same  period  of 
residence." 

The  struggle  which  the  B.S.  degree  encountered 
at  Harvard  has  marked  its  history,  but  fre- 
quently with  less  success,  at  other  institutions. 
With  respect  to  this  matter  President  Jordan,  of 
Leland  Stanford,  writes : 

"Most  of  our  colleges  haye,  at  one  time  or  other, 
arranged  courses  of  study  not  approved  by  the  faculty 
in  response  to  the  popular  demand  for  many  studies 
in  a  little  time.  Such  a  course  of  odds  and  ends  is 
always  called  'the  scientific  course/  and  it  leads  to  the 
appropriate  degree  of  B.  S. — Bachelor  of  Surfaces."  5 

In  relation  to  the  history  of  the  B.S.  degree, 
President  Jordan  can  fitly  use  the  language  of 
^Eneas, 

"quaeque  ipse  miserrima  mdi 
Et  quorum  pars  magna  fui," 

for  in  three  states  he  has  been  a  conspicuous 
figure  in  educational  discussion  and  progress. 
He  himself  tells  how  he  remembers  long  and 
dreary  faculty  meetings,  in  which  were  devised  sci- 
entific courses,  short  in  time  and  weak  in  quality, 
for  students  voluntarily  or  necessarily  declining 
to  become  candidates  for  the  B.A.  degree. 
"There  was,"  he  declared  in  an  address  delivered 
in  1893,  "no  scientific  preparation  or  achieve- 
ment required  in  these  courses.  They  were  sci- 
B  Jordan's  "Care  and  Culture  of  Men,"  p.  175. 


94  THE  UNIFICATION 

entific  in  the  sense  that  they  were  not  anything 
else.  Their  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Science  was 
regarded,  and  rightly  so,  as  far  inferior  to  the 
time  honored  B.A.  In  the  inner  circle  of  educa- 
tion, it  was  regarded  as  no  degree  at  all.  Grad- 
ually, however,  this  despised  degree  has  risen  to 
a  place  with  the  others.  ...  In  our  best  col- 
leges to-day  the  study  of  science  stands  side  by 
side  with  the  study  of  language  and  the  one 
counts  equally  with  the  other."  That  the  B.S. 
curriculum  did  not  always  train  students 
in  science,  is  not  questioned  by  anyone  ac- 
quainted with  college  history.  There  has 
been  a  time  when,  in  one  institution,  at  least,  it 
was  possible  for  a  student  to  obtain  the  B.S.  de- 
gree without  completing  a  single  year's  work  in 
a  natural  science.  But  that  time  has  happily 
passed  away.  It  is,  nevertheless,  a  fact,  ad- 
mitted by  every  member  of  the  faculty  of  that  in- 
stitution, that  the  requirements  for  the  B.S.  de- 
gree are  even  now  by  no  means  coordinate  with 
those  for  the  B.A.  degree. 

Illinois  University  furnishes  additional  proof 
that  the  B.S.  degree,  in  order  to  acquire  respecta- 
bility, has  spent  years  in  the  effort  to  level  itself 
up  to  the  B.A.  requirements.  President  Draper, 
in  a  discussion  of  the  elective  admission  require- 
ments, which  were  made  effective  in  that  institu- 
tion for  the  first  time  in  September,  1899,  main- 
tained that  the  new  plan  for  entrance  rests  upon 
the  assumption  that  the  several  bachelor  degrees 


OF  COLLEGE  DEGREES  95 

are  of  equivalent  value.  "The  scheme,"  he  ex- 
plained, "assumes  that  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of 
Science  does,  or  ought  to,  imply  a  discipline,  or 
educational  training,  equal  to  that  of  the  Bach- 
elor of  Arts;  that  the  man  who  is  trained  pri- 
marily jn  scientific  work  ought  to  be  as  liberally 
trained  as  a  man  who  has  been  trained  in  the  hu- 
manities. And  it  was  particularly  in  our  effort 
to  make  the  degrees  of  the  different  colleges  in 
our  university  of  equal  value,  that  this  new 
scheme  was  adopted.  It  raises,  I  might  say  in 
passing,  the  entrance  requirements  for  courses 
leading  to  all  degrees,  in  our  university,  except 
that  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  from,  I  think,  20  to  40 
per  cent."  It  is,  therefore,  plain  that  the  Uni- 
versity of  Illinois,  up  to  the  beginning  of  the 
present  scholastic  session,  has  not  required  of  her 
B.S.  students  as  rigorous  training  as  of  her  B.A. 
students,  and  it  reasonably  follows  that,  up  to 
this  time,  her  B.A.  degree  has  been  justly  entitled 
to  preeminence. 

Concerning  the  B.S.  degree  Cornell  University 
furnishes  proof  similar  to  that  already  set  forth 
in  this  paper.  Up  to  1886  a  student  desiring  to 
enter  her  B.S.  course  was  examined  only  in  the 
elementary  subjects,  to  which  was  added  French 
or  German  covered  by  one  year  of  high-school  in- 
struction, or  advanced  mathematics.  The  re- 
quirements ten  years  later  were  so  changed  as  to 
embrace,  in  addition  to  the  elementary  subjects, 
French  and  German  covered  by  three  years'  high- 


96  THE  UNIFICATION 

school  instruction  in  each  of  the  two  languages, 
and  advanced  mathematics.  President  Schur- 
man,  referring  to  this  matter  in  1897,  wrote: 

"Cornell  early  became  convinced  that  the  granting 
of  'cheap  degrees'  is  in  every  way  hurtful  to  the  in- 
terests of  true  education.  .  .  .  The  old  B.S.  and 
B.L.  were  unfair  rivals  of  the  B.A.  .  .  .  The 
whole  trend  of  legislation  at  Cornell  in  the  past  has 
been  in  the  direction  of  equalizing  the  dignity  of 
degrees  by  equalizing  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  them." 

In  Tulane  University  the  B.S.  course  has  been 
so  strengthened  as  to  bring  it  up  to  the  B.A. 
standard,  and  it  is  now  claimed  that  the  two 
courses,  "though  directed  in  different  pursuits  in 
life,  are  parallel  and  equivalent  in  the  amount, 
proportion,  and  exactness  of  the  training  and  in- 
struction offered." 

On  this  point  additional  testimony,  which  the 
history  of  the  B.S.  degree  in  many  other  institu- 
tions furnishes,  seems  unnecessary.  Enough  has 
been  presented  to  establish  the  general  proposi- 
tion that,  at  the  expiration  of  a  half-century  of 
discussion,  experiment,  and  contest,  the  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Science  has  become  respectable,  and 
that,  at  least,  the  college  world  is  beginning  to 
respect  it  as  a  title  which  bears  witness  of  liberal 
culture.  It  is  only  just  to  remark,  before  pas- 
sing from  this  phase  of  the  discussion,  that  the 
science  men  and  the  modern-language  men  have  at 
every  stage  of  the  evolution  of  the  B.S.  degree 


OF  COLLEGE  DEGREES  97 

manifested  an  earnest  desire  to  make  the  cur- 
riculum leading  to  it  equivalent  to  any  other  bach- 
elor curriculum  in  respect  to  the  quantity  and 
also  the  quality  of  the  requirements  both  before 
and  after  admission  to  college.  Wherever  they 
have  been  allowed,  they  have  fully  demonstrated 
that,  under  favorable  conditions,  i.e.,  when  all 
subjects  were  granted  equal  favor  by  college  au- 
thorities, the  B.S.  degree  has  steadily  increased  its 
requirements,  and  has  established  its  claims  to 
respectability,  and  has,  particularly  in  later 
years,  gained  marked  popular  favor  among  stu- 
dents. 

The  struggles  of  the  degrees  of  Bachelor  of 
Philosophy  and  Bachelor  of  Literature  have  been 
similar  to  those  of  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Sci- 
ence; but  have  not  been  crowned  with  so  much 
success.  Created  to  meet  the  wants  of  students 
not  able  or  not  willing  to  comply  altogether  with 
the  classical  requirements  for  the  B.A.  degree, 
established  in  many  instances  that  persons  of  in- 
ferior preparatory  training  of  any  kind  might 
be  admitted  to  college  and  given  the  opportunity 
of  securing  diplomas  of  graduation,  it  is  no  won- 
der that  these  two  degrees  have  been  regarded  as 
unworthy  of  ranking  with  that  degree  which  has 
all  along  been  the  standard  for  measuring  liberal 
culture.  They  have  often  been  considered,  and 
properly  so,  by  both  students  and  faculties,  as 
species  of  "consolation  prizes,"  doled  out  to  those 
unable  to  secure  more  excellent  and  honorable 


98  THE  UNIFICATION 

awards.  Notwithstanding  the  fact  just  now  re- 
counted, there  has  been  for  some  years  a  well- 
defined  and  partially  successful  effort  to 
strengthen  and  enrich  the  courses  leading  to  these 
degrees.  Among  educational  leaders  there  have 
been  constantly  deepening  convictions  that  re- 
quirements for  all  Bachelor  degrees  should  be 
equalized;  that  the  granting  of  "cheap  degrees" 
lowers  the  standard  of  culture  and  becomes  a  pro- 
lific source  of  other  educational  evils.  As  these 
convictions  have  here  and  there  been  transformed 
from  idea  into  reality,  these  two  minor  degrees 
have  gained  caste,  and,  like  the  B.S.  degree,  they 
are  now  in  some  places  accorded  decent  recogni- 
tion as  badges  of  culture.  The  fact  is  that,  the 
inequalities  in  the  requirements  for  the  several 
Bachelor  degrees  once  being  removed,  the  differ- 
ences remaining  dwindle  into  insignificance.  One 
is  consequently  not  surprised  that  President  Eliot, 
after  calling  attention  in  his  annual  report,  dated 
January  9,  1899,  to  the  fact  that  the  aggregate 
of  the  new  degrees  conferred  in  1898  by  eight  of 
the  leading  colleges  exceeded  the  number  of  B.A. 
degrees  awarded  by  the  same  universities,  and 
after  showing  how  great  have  been  the  inroads 
made  upon  the  fields  of  liberal  culture,  territory 
which  was  formerly  occupied  exclusively  by  the 
old  degree,  submits  this  reflection : 

"It  is,  therefore,  a  pressing  question  how  to  secure 
and  defend  a  legitimate  province  for  the  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Arts." 


OF  COLLEGE  DEGREES  99 

This  same  question  was  raised  at  Cornell  as 
soon  as  the  requirements  for  the  several  degrees 
were  equalized,  and  during  the  session  of  1895-6 
it  was  decided  that,  because  liberal  scholarship  is 
the  one  common  aim  of  all  students  prosecuting 
study  in  the  liberal  arts  and  pure  sciences,  only 
one  degree  be  granted  to  signify  that 
aim  of  the  undergraduate  has  been  realized.  It 
was  argued  that  the  purely  academic  department 
of  Cornell  is  the  expression  of  a  single  educa- 
tional principle,  with  which  the  multiplication  of 
degrees  is  clearly  inconsistent.  The  conclusion 
was  reached,  which  answered  President  Eliot's 
"pressing  question"  four  years  before  he  pro- 
pounded it,  that  the  legitimate  province  of  the 
B.A.  degree  is  the  entire  range  of  studies  that 
have  demonstrated  their  fitness  to  bear  the  title 
of  liberal  arts,  all  studies  that  are  not  to  be  clas- 
sified as  belonging  to  technical  or  professional 
education. 

From  the  foregoing  discussion  of  the  new  de- 
grees one  may,  not  without  reason,  conclude  that 
history  will,  in  all  probability,  repeat  itself,  and 
that  the  B.A.  degree  will  again  hold  undisputed 
sway  in  the  realm  of  the  liberal  arts,  but  a  realm 
amazingly  and  gloriously  enriched  by  the  policy 
of  expansion  which  has  characterized  the  world 
of  learning  during  the  latter  half  of  the  Nine- 
teenth Century. 


VI 


THE  ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  DEPART- 
MENT OF  EDUCATION  IN  COLLEGES 
AND  UNIVERSITIES  1 

It  is  the  purpose  of  this  paper  to  set  forth 
the  relations  which  the  department  of  education 
should  bear  to  other  departments  in  colleges  and 
universities,  and  to  determine,  if  possible,  a 
scheme  of  organization  by  which  those  relations 
may  be  justly  maintained.  After  a  brief  his- 
torical survey  of  the  professional  education  of 
teachers,  the  situation  as  it  is  to-day  will  be  pre- 
sented in  detail,  and  then  will  follow  a  discussion 
of  the  question  at  issue. 

I.    HISTORICAL  SURVEY 

In  the  university  of  ancient  Athens  questions 
pertaining  to  the  department  of  education  were 
neither  important  nor  troublesome.  Notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  the  Greeks  seriously  un- 
dertook the  reflective  study  of  human  nature,  and 
founded  schools  of  philosophy  whose  influences 

i  A  monograph  discussed  by  the  National  Society  of  Col- 
lege Teachers  of  Education  at  the  meeting  held  in  Chicago 
February  26  and  27,  190T. 

100 


COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES     l6l' 

have  survived  to  this  day,  problems  belonging  to 
the  theory  and  practice  of  teaching  were  not  sci- 
entifically considered;  hence  there  arose  among 
the  Athenians  no  professor  of  education  to  dis- 
turb his  colleagues,  or  to  be  disturbed  himself, 
because  of  efforts  to  make  satisfactory  adjust- 
ment of  the  study  of  education  to  academic  en- 
vironment. 

In  ancient  Rome,  also,  the  education  depart- 
ment was  unknown;  not  even  a  course  in  educa- 
tion was  offered.  So,  too,  the  universities  in  the 
Middle  Ages  got  on  very  comfortably  for  cen- 
turies without  the  assistance  of  education  pro- 
fessors. The  fact  is  that  the  study  of  education 
was  born  in  modern  times,  the  Jesuits  being  first 
to  give  the  subject  serious  consideration. 

Along  with  other  new  subjects  the  study  of 
education  has  had  a  long  and  an  arduous  strug- 
gle to  secure  recognition.  In  prolonging  the 
contest  two  causes  have  been  especially  aggres- 
sive and  efficient.  The  first  of  these  causes  may 
be  stated  thus:  The  Renaissance  established 
classical  learning  as  the  ideal  of  education,  and 
faith  in  the  efficiency  and  all-sufficiency  of  the 
culture-material  embodied  in  the  languages  and 
literatures  of  ancient  Greece  and  Rome  became 
as  unyielding  as  that  of  Jonathan  Edwards  in 
the  five  points  of  Calvinism.  Education,  there- 
fore, as  well  as  every  other  aspiring  new  subject, 
experienced  the  greatest  difficulty  in  entering  the 
charmed  circle  of  the  liberal  arts,  for,  in  the 


DEPARTMENT  OF  EDUCATION  IN 

field  of  learning,  as  in  that  of  politics,  the  way  of 
the  "trust-buster"  is  hard. 

The  second  of  the  causes  is  the  opinion,  long 
entertained  by  people  generally,  including  even 
teachers  themselves,  that  there  is  no  science  of 
teaching.  Somewhat  more  than  twenty  years  ago 
the  Hon.  Robert  Lowe,  a  leading  educational  of- 
ficer in  England,  declared  that  there  could  be  "no 
such  thing  as  the  science  of  education."  2  Eng- 
lishmen accepted  this  declaration  without  ques- 
tion, and  not  a  few  American  educators  heard  it 
with  manifestations  of  delight.  But  it  is  unnec- 
essary to  go  even  twenty  years  into  the  past  for 
proof  that  the  study  of  education  is  not  uni- 
versally regarded  with  favor.  In  1904  Prof. 
Barrett  Wendell,  of  Harvard  University,  con- 
tributed to  a  popular  magazine  an  article  from 
which  these  sentences  are  taken: 


"Of  all  our  educational  superstitions,  we  may  freely 
admit,  none  is  more  instantly  apparent  than  that 
which  worships  the  classics  and  mathematics  as  idols. 
And  yet  the  newer  educational  superstition,  which 
bows  the  knee  to  pedagogics,  is  beginning  to  seem 
more  mischievously  idolatrous  still."  3 

Even  to-day  are  to  be  found  members  of  the 
Harvard  faculty  and  of  the  faculties  in  other 

2  Quick's  "Educational  Reformers,"  p.  379. 
s  "Our  National  Superstition,"  The  North  American  Re- 
view, September,  1904,  p.  401. 


COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES     103 

colleges  and  universities  who,  if  possible,  surpass 
Professor  Wendell  in  expressions  of  contempt 
for  education  as  a  university  study. 

In  spite  of  the  hindering  causes  above  detailed, 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  some  of  the  leaders  in 
the  study  of  education  have  been  blessed  with 
more  zeal  than  either  scholarship  or  sense,  in  spite 
of  the  ravages  wrought  by  fakirs  and  camp- 
followers  swift  to  take  advantage  of  opportunities 
afforded  by  the  exploiting  of  a  new  idea,  the  his- 
tory of  the  university  movement  to  dignify  the 
office  of  the  teacher,  to  establish  education  upon 
the  basis  of  reason  rather  than  upon  that  of  tra- 
dition and  caprice  and  empiricism,  to  elevate  edu- 
cation to  the  plane  of  other  worthy  subjects, 
stands  in  need  of  no  apology,  for  it  contains  a 
record  of  the  deeds  of  many  faithful,  intelligent, 
courageous  souls,  who,  enduring  crosses  and  de- 
spising shame  for  half  a  century  or  longer,  have 
been  actively  engaged  on  the  firing  line  of  educa- 
tional reform.  That  record  cannot  here  be  given 
in  detail;  but  attention  is  invited  to  a  review  of 
some  of  its  more  important  features. 

Thomas  Hopkins  Gallaudet,  so  Dr.  Will  S. 
Monroe  has  recently  discovered  in  his  study  of 
the  life  of  Henry  Barnard,  was  the  first  American 
professor  to  conduct  education  courses  in  a  uni- 
versity. For  at  least  two  years,  beginning  in 
1832,  Gallaudet  gave  instruction  in  the  philoso- 
phy of  education  at  the  University  of  the  City  of 
New  York,  now  called  New  York  University. 


104    DEPARTMENT  OF  EDUCATION  IN 

This  information,  revealed  by  the  Barnard  cor- 
respondence, Professor  Monroe  says,  is  confirmed 
by  Hough's  "Historical  and  Statistical  Record  of 
the  University  of  New  York." 

In  1849  President  Wayland,  of  Brown  Univer- 
sity, offered  his  resignation  of  the  presidency  of 
that  institution  because  he  was  unable  to  inau- 
gurate educational  reforms  he  considered  neces- 
sary. His  resignation,  however,  was  not  ac- 
cepted, the  corporation  appointing  a  committee, 
with  Dr.  Wayland  himself  as  chairman,  to  pre- 
pare a  report  concerning  the  new  policies  which 
he  believed  should  be  inaugurated.  The  report 
of  the  committee  was  submitted  in  1850.  Among 
the  new  courses  which  were  recommended,  and 
which  the  corporation  afterward  adopted,  was  "a 
course  of  instruction  in  the  science  of  teaching."  4 
This,  commonly  regarded  as  the  first  course  in 
education  ever  given  in  an  American  university, 
was  announced  under  the  name  of  "Didactics," 
and  was  described  in  the  Brown  catalogue  as  fol- 
lows: 

"Didactics. — This  department  is  open  for  all  those 
who  wish  to  become  professional  teachers.  A  course 
of  lectures  will  be  given  on  the  habits  of  mind  neces- 
sary to  eminent  success  in  teaching;  the  relation  of 
the  teacher  to  the  pupil;  the  principles  which  should 
guide  in  the  organization  of  the  school;  the  arrange- 
ment and  adaptation  of  studies  to  the  capacity  of  the 

*  Barnard's  Journal  of  Education,  Volume  13,  pp.  778-780. 


COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES     105 

learner;  the  influences  to  be  employed  in  controlling 
the  passions,  forming  the  habits,  and  elevating  the 
tastes  of  the  young;  and  on  the  elements  of  the  art 
of  teaching,  or  the  best  methods  of  imparting  in- 
struction in  reading,  grammar,  geography,  history, 
mathematics,  language,  and  the  various  other  branches 
taught  in  our  higher  seminaries.  All  these  lectures 
are  accompanied  with  practical  exercises,  in  which 
each  member  is  to  participate. 

"For  the  benefit  of  teachers  generally  a  class  has 
already  been  formed  consisting  of  persons  not  con- 
nected with  the  university.  .  .  .  Lectures  are 
given  at  the  lecture  room  of  the  high  school,  on  Benefit 
Street,  twice  a  week  on  the  various  topics  embraced 
in  the  course  of  elementary  teaching."  5 

The  first  professor  of  didactics  in  Brown  Uni- 
versity was  S.  S.  Greene,  one  of  the  thirty-one 
Boston  schoolmasters,  who  had  helped  to  make 
Horace  Mann  famous  by  attacking,  in  1844,  his 
celebrated  Seventh  Annual  Report,  a  document 
devoted  especially  to  advocacy  of  the  study  of 
education.  In  1854,  for  want  of  funds,  the  Chair 
of  Didactics  was  abolished  at  Brown  University, 
her  students  being  thereafter  permitted  to  study 
education  courses  in  the  Rhode  Island  Normal 
School,  which  had  been  established  in  Providence. 
Education  did  not  again  find  its  way  into  the 
Brown  University  curriculum  until  almost  fifty 
years  had  passed. 

The  next  effort  to  establish  education  as  a  col- 
5  Educational  Review,  Volume  19,  p.  112. 


106     DEPARTMENT  OF  EDUCATION  IN 

lege  course  was  made  in  Antioch  College  by  Hor- 
ace Mann,  who,  after  serving  twelve  years  as  Sec- 
retary of  the  Massachusetts  Board  of  Education 
and  a  term  or  two  in  Congress,  became,  in  1853, 
the  president  of  the  institution  just  now  named. 
It  is  believed  that  the  instruction  given  was  that 
of  the  normal  school,  rather  than  of  the  univer- 
sity, grade.  How  long  even  this  kind  of  instruc- 
tion was  given  at  Antioch,  is  not  surely  known; 
but  it  certainly  ceased  with  the  downfall  of  the 
College  in  the  early  days  of  the  Civil  War. 

A  feeble  legislative  attempt  to  provide  instruc- 
tion in  education  at  the  Missouri  State  Univer- 
sity was  made  in  1867 ;  but  the  effort  resulted  in 
failure,  there  being  at  that  time  no  one  in  that 
state  to  "show"  the  Missourians  how  the  thing 
could  be  done.  That  was  before  the  days,  we  re- 
member, of  the  vigorous  and  progressive  admin- 
istration of  President  R.  H.  Jesse. 

In  the  State  University  of  Iowa,  from  1856  to 
1873  there  were  efforts  to  insure  instruction  to 
teachers,  finally  culminating  in  the  establishment 
of  the  Chair  of  Mental  Philosophy,  Moral  Phi- 
losophy and  Didactics.  The  Didactics  being  only 
a  tail,  and  a  very  small  one  at  that,  attached  to 
those  two  big  mental  and  moral  philosophy  ca- 
nines, it  is  no  wonder  that  they  found  it  both 
easy  and  amusing  to  wag  in  any  way  they  pleased 
the  caudal  appendage  they  held  in  common. 

To  Michigan  University,  possibly,  belongs  the 
honor  of  establishing  in  this  country  the  first 


COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES     107 

bona  fide  professorship  to  be  devoted  exclusively 
to  the  professional  side  of  the  equipment  of  teach- 
ers. This  chair  was  established  in  June,  1879, 
when  there  were  in  the  English-speaking  world 
only  two  college  chairs  of  education — the  Bell 
chairs  in  Edinburgh  and  St.  Andrews.  The 
Michigan  chair  was  founded  as  the  result  of  the 
persistent  efforts  of  President  Angell,  who,  both 
as  a  student  and  as  a  professor  in  Brown  Uni- 
versity, had  profited  by  his  acquaintance  with 
President  Wayland.  In  the  circular  describing 
the  proposed  work  of  the  new  chair  these  pur- 
poses were  enumerated: 

"1.  To  fit  university  students  for  the  higher  posi- 
tions in  the  public-school  service. 

"2.  To  promote  the  study  of  educational  science. 

"3.  To  teach  the  history  of  education  and  of  educa- 
tional systems  and  doctrines. 

"4.  To  secure  to  teachers  the  rights,  prerogatives, 
and  advantages  of  the  profession. 

"5.  To  give  a  more  perfect  unity  to  the  state  ed- 
ucational system  by  bringing  the  secondary  schools 
into  closer  relations  with  the  University."  6 

In  1882  that  great  college  president,  F.  A.  P. 
Barnard,  of  Columbia,  in  his  annual  report  made 
a  strong  and  a  comprehensive  plea  for  giving  the 
study  of  education  standing-room  in  the  univer- 
sity. I  would  that  there  were  time  to  quote  his 

«  Hinsdale  in  Educational  Review,  Volume  19,  p.  118. 


108    DEPARTMENT  OF  EDUCATION  IN 

entire  discussion  of  the  value  of  the  study  of  edu- 
cation, for  the  argument  is  so  clearly,  fully,  and 
convincingly  made  that  to-day  it  stands  in  need 
of  no  revision.  Space  enough  is  taken  to  give 
here  only  the  last  sentence,  which  reads: 

"In  no  other  way  which  it  is  possible  ...  to 
imagine,  could  the  power  of  this  institution  for  good 
be  made  more  widely,  effectively  felt,  than  in  this 
[professional  education  of  teachers]  ;  in  no  other  way 
than  in  this  could  it  do  so  much  to  vivify  and  elevate 
the  educational  system  of  this  great  community, 
through  all  its  grades,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest." 

It  was  largely  because  of  President  Barnard's 
insight  and  executive  power  that  the  great  State 
of  New  York  and  the  country  at  large  have  en- 
joyed the  benefits  of  the  pedagogical  instruction 
once  offered  in  Columbia's  School  of  Philosophy 
and  Education,  and  now  given  in  Teachers'  Col- 
lege, into  which  the  education  portion  of  that 
school  has  been  merged  and  from  which  lovers  of 
sound  learning  and  sane  teaching  in  all  parts  of 
the  Union  are  receiving  both  inspiration  and  prac- 
tical guidance. 

Following  the  example  of  Michigan  and  Colum- 
bia, Cornell,  Wisconsin,  Kansas,  Indiana,  Leland 
Stanford,  Harvard,  Texas,  Missouri,  Colorado, 
Nebraska,  Minnesota,  California,  and  the  great 
majority  of  other  reputable  American  colleges 
and  universities,  have  established  education  chairs, 


COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES     109 

or  even  departments  of  education,  coordinate  with 
the  departments  of  law,  medicine,  and  theology. 
From  1860  to  1907  many  other  things,  truly, 
happened — things  which  have  not  been  set  down 
above,  but  which  are  not  devoid  of  interest.  For 
example,  in  1860,  Dr.  John  M.  Gregory,  then 
State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  first 
gave  to  the  senior  class  and  some  other  students 
in  Michigan  University,  a  short  course  of  lec- 
tures, his  services  being  considered  as  a  kind  of 
pedagogic  lagniappe.  Many  have  been  the 
changes  wrought  in  order  to  develop  the  embryo 
professional  lectureship  of  the  early  days  into  a 
teachers'  college,  such  as  may  be  found  in  Colum- 
bia, in  which  to-day  are  found  a  greater  number 
of  professors  and  instructors  and  more  courses  of 
instruction  than  obtained  in  all  of  the  depart- 
ments of  an  average  university  a  generation  ago. 
It  would  be  sad,  and  it  may  be  unprofitable,  to 
relate  how  the  pioneer  professor  of  education  re- 
ceived such  treatment  as  would  lead  one  to  suspect 
that  he  was  in  the  habit  of  sitting  on  the  back 
steps  of  the  institution  he  served  and  of  receiving 
such  occasional  crumbs  of  comfort  as  the  more 
charitably  inclined  of  his  colleagues  and  the  stu- 
dent-body were  constrained  to  give  him.  It 
would  be  a  painful  task,  though  it  might  point 
a  moral,  to  recount  the  perilous  situations  which 
educational  courses  occupied  during  the  storm- 
and-stress  period — counting  at  times  nothing  at 
all  toward  an  academic  degree,  at  other  times  re- 


110    DEPARTMENT  OF  EDUCATION  IN 

ceiving  only  partial  credit,  under  the  ban  here, 
hiding  out  there,  and  all  the  time  searching  for 
some  modus  Vivendi  that  would  be,  in  any  degree, 
tolerable.  It  is,  indeed,  a  far  cry  from  those  days 
to  our  own,  in  which  education  ranks  with  Latin, 
Greek  and  mathematics,  and,  in  some  universities, 
with  law  and  medicine,  and  in  which  the  professor 
of  education  has  no  cause  to  complain  of  unjust 
discrimination  of  either  a  social,  a  professional, 
or  even  a  financial  character. 


II.    THE  PRESENT  STATUS  OF  THE  PROFES- 
SIONAL EDUCATION  OF  TEACHERS 

i.     In  America 

In  order  that  the  plans  for  the  organization 
of  the  professional  education  of  teachers,  as  it 
now  obtains  in  American  colleges  and  universities, 
might  be  definitely  and  accurately  known,  resort 
was  made  to  the  questionnaire,  which,  to  the  aver- 
age professor  of  education,  is  a  present  help  in 
time  of  trouble.  The  questionnaire  in  this  in- 
stance included  the  following  questions: 

1.  Is  the  education  work  in  your  institution  or- 
ganized into  a  separate  department,  coordinate  with 
the  departments  of  law,  medicine  and  engineering? 

If  it  is  so  organized,  give: 

a.  The  requirements   for  entrance  into  the  De- 

partment. 

b.  The  requirements  for  graduation  therefrom. 


COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES     111 

c.  The  name  of  the  degree  conferred  by  the  De- 
partment. 

2.  Or  is  the  education  work  organized  into  a  school 
coordinate  with  the  school  of  English,  mathematics, 
Latin  and  other  schools  composing  the  college  of  arts, 
or  academic  department,  and  do  all  courses  in  educa- 
tion count  toward  academic  degrees? 

8.  Or  is  the  work  in  education  given  only  incident- 
ally as  a  part  of  the  work  of  the  school  of  philosophy 
or  of  some  other  academic  school? 

4.  If  the  department  of  education  obtains,  describe 
the  powers  of  administration,  showing  how  its  faculty 
is  related  to  other  faculties  in  the  institution. 

5.  Please  give  in  briefest  outline  the  historical  data 
concerning  the  founding  and  the  subsequent  evolution 
of  the  professional  education  of  teachers  in  your  in- 
stitution. 

6.  I  shall  be  greatly  indebted  to  you  if  you  will 
give  me  a  brief  statement   (a)   of  an  ideal  plan  for 
organizing  the  education  work  in  colleges  and  universi- 
ties, and  (b)  of  that  plan  which,  in  view  of  present 
conditions,  you  believe  it  would  be  the  part  of  wisdom 
to  adopt  now. 

Responses  were  received  from  forty-two  insti- 
tutions. An  examination  of  the  answers  to  ques- 
tions 1  to  4  inclusive  discloses  great  variety  in 
the  plans  of  organization.  Education  is  organ- 
ized as  a  department  coordinate  with  law  and 
medicine  in  the  University  of  Arkansas,  Leland 
Stanford  Junior  University,  the  University  of 
Chicago,  the  University  of  Minnesota,  the  Uni- 
versity of  Missouri,  the  University  of  Nevada, 


DEPARTMENT  OF  EDUCATION  IN 

Teachers'  College  (New  York),  New  York  Uni- 
versity, the  University  of  North  Dakota,  the  Uni- 
versity of  Cincinnati,  the  University  of  Texas, 
Syracuse  University,  and  the  University  of 
Wyoming. 

It  is  organized  as  a  school  coordinate  with  the 
school  of  English,  of  mathematics  or  of  history, 
or  of  any  other  academic  study,  in  the  University 
of  California,  the  University  of  Colorado,  the  Uni- 
versity of  Florida,  Northwestern  University 
(Evanston,  Illinois),  the  University  of  Indiana, 
the  State  University  of  Iowa,  the  University  of 
Kansas,  the  University  of  Nebraska,  the  Uni- 
versity of  New  Mexico,  Cornell  University,  Ohio 
State  University,  Western  Reserve  University, 
the  Oklahoma  University,  the  University  of  Ten- 
nessee, the  University  of  Utah,  the  University  of 
Virginia,  the  University  of  West  Virginia  and 
the  University  of  Wisconsin. 

In  Harvard  University  education  is  organized 
as  a  "division,"  which  has  about  the  same  sig- 
nification as  expressed  by  the  term  school,  as  used 
above.7  In  the  University  of  Illinois  there  is  what 
is  called  the  School  of  Education;  but  it  is  not 
a  school  in  the  narrow  sense;  nor  is  it  a  depart- 
ment coordinate  with  law  and  medicine.  It  is, 
as  nearly  as  may  be  determined  about  half-way 
between  a  school  and  a  department,  and  is  coordi- 

7  Divisions  in  Harvard  sometimes  include  more  than  one 
subject.  Education,  prior  to  February,  1906,  belonged  to 
the  "Division  of  Philosophy." 


COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES     113 

nate  with  what  is  known  in  the  University  of  Il- 
linois as  the  School  of  Music,  or  the  Library 
School.8 

In  each  of  some  other  institutions  education  is 
an  integral  part  of  the  work  of  a  school  to  which 
is  assigned  some  other  subject,  also, — generally 
philosophy.  In  the  University  of  Alabama,  the 
University  of  Georgia,  the  Louisiana  State 
University,  the  University  of  Rochester,  and  the 
University  of  Oregon  the  school  is  known  as  the 
Department  of  Philosophy  and  Education.  In 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  education  is  a 
part  of  the  School  of  Philosophy,  as  is  psychol- 
ogy? as  we^5  the  three  subjects,  however,  being 
given  equal  rank.  In  Clark  University  education 
is  included  in  the  Department  (school)  of  Phi- 
losophy and  Psychology,  and  in  Brown  University 
it  is  a  province  of  the  Department  (school)  of 
Philosophy. 

In  Bowdoin  College  there  is  only  a  single  half- 
year  course  in  education,  and  that  course  is  con- 
ducted by  the  Professor  of  English. 

In  Johns  Hopkins  University  and  Vanderbilt 
University  no  provision  whatever  is  made  for  edu- 

s  The  University  of  Illinois,  in  order  to  promote  efficient 
administration,  is  divided  into  the  seven  colleges  (Literature 
and  Arts,  Engineering,  Science,  Agriculture,  Law,  Medi- 
cine, and  Dentistry)  and  five  schools  (Music,  Library, 
Science,  Education,  Pharmacy,  and  the  Graduate  School). 
This  division  does  not  imply  that  the  colleges  and  schools 
are  educationally  separate.  They  are  interdependent,  and 
form  a  unit. 


114    DEPARTMENT  OF  EDUCATION  IN 

cation  courses.  Chancellor  Kirkland,  after  con- 
fessing Vanderbilt's  neglect  of  an  important  uni- 
versity function,  thus  expresses  his  regret: 

"I  am  sorry  to  say  that  we  have  no  Department 
of  Education,  and  do  nothing  for  the  professional 
training  of  teachers.  I  regret  this  state  of  affairs 
exceedingly,  and  hope  that,  before  many  years,  it 
will  be  possible  for  us  to  show  something  different." 

In  each  of  the  colleges  and  universities  where 
education  is  yoked  with  philosophy,  i.  e.9  where, 
to  express  it  mathematically,  it  is  a  half-school, 
or  even  less,  courses  in  education  have  the  same 
rank  as  is  accorded  other  college  courses,  and, 
therefore,  they  count  toward  academic  degrees. 
There  has  been  no  report  to  the  effect  that  edu- 
cation courses  are  considered  inferior  or  subordi- 
nate to  those  in  philosophy.  On  the  contrary,  from 
Oregon  comes  the  rather  remarkable  testimony 
that  philosophy  is,  in  the  university  of  that  state, 
now  subordinated  to  education,  and  that  this  sub- 
ordination will  probably  remain  undisturbed. 
Education  courses  in  the  group  of  institutions  we 
have  just  now  been  considering  are  elective,  be- 
ing open  usually  only  to  students  above  the 
sophomore  year.  In  the  Louisiana  State  Uni- 
versity, however,  a  course  in  descriptive  psychol- 
ogy may  be  elected  by  freshmen,  while  sophomores 
may  elect  courses  in  educational  psychology  and 
the  history  of  education. 


COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES     115 

In  the  colleges  and  universities  in  which  there 
is  a  school  of  education  coordinate  with  other 
schools,  such  as  English,  history,  mathematics, 
etc.,  education  professors  have  the  same  rights 
and  privileges  as  are  enjoyed  by  other  academic 
professors.  In  fact,  education,  as  it  is  organized 
in  each  of  these  institutions,  is  considered  merely 
as  one  of  the  many  schools  into  which  the  aca- 
demic department  is  divided.  Education  courses 
are  elective,  being  offered  to  students  that  are, 
as  a  rule,  of  junior  rank,  or  higher.  In  the  state 
universities  generally  the  completion  of  education 
courses,  along  with  prescribed  courses  in  other 
schools,  leads  to  teachers'  certificates,  some  valid 
for  two  years,  others  for  four  years,  and  still 
others  during  the  life  of  the  respective  holders. 
In  each  institution  in  this  group  education  has, 
undoubtedly,  won  the  distinction  and  the  repu- 
tation of  a  liberal  art.  It  is  not  dependent  upon, 
or  subservient  to,  any  other  subject.  As  Pro- 
fessor Olin,  of  Kansas  University,  says: 

"The  School  of  Education  in  Kansas  University  is 
separate,  and  has  no  entangling  alliances,  is  not  even 
(to  use  a  Miinsterberg  expression)  the  vermiform 
appendix  of  the  department  of  philosophy." 

In  those  institutions  in  which  education  depart- 
ments coordinate  with  the  departments  of  law  and 
medicine  are  maintained,  the  regulations  concern- 
ing organization,  administration,  admission  and 
graduation  are  varied.  At  the  Universities  of 


116     DEPARTMENT  OF  EDUCATION  IN 

Arkansas,  Missouri,  Nevada,  North  Dakota  and 
Wyoming  students  able  to  enter  the  freshman 
class  may  be  admitted  into  the  department  of 
education.  At  the  Universities  of  Minnesota  and 
Texas  and  at  Chicago  University,  Teachers'  Col- 
lege of  Columbia  University,  Leland  Stanford 
University,  and  the  University  of  Cincinnati  no 
regular  student  below  the  rank  of  junior  is  per- 
mitted to  enter  the  department  of  education.  At 
the  School  of  Pedagogy  in  New  York  University 
graduation  from  a  college  approved  by  the  Re- 
gents of  the  New  York  University  is  required  for 
admission. 

The  graduation  requirements  of  the  depart- 
ments of  education  in  those  schools  admitting 
freshmen  include  courses  equivalent  to  those  re- 
quired for  obtaining  the  arts  degree.  To  com- 
plete this  work  requires  the  usual  four  years, 
the  University  of  Arkansas  being  an  exception. 
In  that  institution  the  student  is  graduated  upon 
the  accomplishment  of  two  years'  work.  In  the 
education  departments  requiring  junior  standing 
for  entrance  two  years'  additional  work  must  be 
successfully  done  to  meet  graduation  require- 
ments. Among  the  requirements  for  graduation 
from  any  of  the  departments  of  education  is  in- 
cluded what  may  be  considered  teachers'  profes- 
sional courses,  varying  both  with  respect  to  num- 
ber and  time-limits. 

A  graduate  of  the  department  of  education  in 
the  University  of  Arkansas  is  given  the  degree  of 


COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES     117 

L.I. ;  but  courses  which  absolve  requirements  for 
this  degree  may  be  counted  also  toward  the  aca- 
demic Bachelor's  degrees,  which  may  be  obtained 
by  an  additional  two  years  of  successful  work. 
In  the  University  of  Minnesota  and  the  Univer- 
sity of  Cincinnati  the  B.A.  degree  is  granted  to 
the  graduate  of  the  department  of  education. 
In  Leland  Stanford  Jr.  University  and  the  Uni- 
versities of  Nevada  and  Wyoming  the  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Arts  in  Education  obtains.  In 
Teachers'  College  the  Bachelor  of  Science  degree 
is  granted;  in  Missouri  University  the  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Science  in  Education  is  conferred ;  in 
the  University  of  Chicago  arrangements  have 
been  perfected  to  bestow  the  degree  of  Bachelor 
of  Arts,  Bachelor  of  Philosophy,  Bachelor  of  Sci- 
ence, as  well  as  Bachelor  of  Education,  the  re- 
quirements for  the  degree  last  named  being  much 
the  more  rigorous. 

The  School  of  Pedagogy  of  New  York  Uni- 
versity confers  the  degrees,  Master  of  Pedagogy 
and  Doctor  of  Pedagogy.  Teachers'  College  of 
Columbia  University  and  the  University  of  North 
Dakota  confer  upon  education  graduates  certain 
teachers'  diplomas,  which  may  be  considered  as 
quasi-professional  degrees. 

The  organization  of  the  departments  in  Amer- 
ican colleges  and  universities  is  by  no  means  uni- 
form; but  in  each  institution  where  a  separate 
department,  or  college,  of  education  has  been  es- 
tablished, it  enjoys  the  same  rights,  privileges, 


118     DEPARTMENT  OF  EDUCATION  IN 

and  powers  as  are  accorded  to  any  other  depart- 
ment, or  college.  The  administrative  officers  of 
the  education  department  conduct  its  internal  af- 
fairs, and  the  education  faculty  is  represented  in 
the  university  council,  or  senate,  which  deals  with 
general  policies. 

2.     In  Some  Foreign  Countries 

In  English  universities  comparatively  little  at- 
tention is  given  to  the  study  of  education,  the 
teachers'  training  colleges  having  very  largely 
monopolized  the  field,  apparently  with  the  full  and 
free  consent  of  the  universities  themselves.  The 
Oxford  University  Calendar  for  1903,  for  ex- 
ample, in  its  faculty  of  arts,  lists  as  an  Educa- 
tion Reader,  Maurice  Walter  Keatinge,  the  au- 
thor of  an  excellent  translation  of  the  "Didactica 
Magna"  of  Comenius. 

In  Cambridge  University  the  late  Robert  Hebert 
Quick  in  1879  delivered  the  first  lecture  on  edu- 
cation offered  under  the  auspices  of  that  ven- 
erable institution.  That  year  he  was  employed 
to  deliver  eight  educational  lectures  at  Cambridge, 
the  honorarium  bestowed  upon  him  being  twenty- 
five  pounds.  So  far  as  I  am  informed,  the  edu- 
cation work  at  Cambridge  since  Quick's  day  has 
increased  from  eight  lectures  a  year  to  a  dozen  or 
more.  Some  additional  work  in  education,  how- 
ever, is  done  by  both  Oxford  and  Cambridge,  but 
my  understanding  is  that  it  takes  the  form  of  ex- 


COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES     119 

tension  courses,  and  that  they  are  not  considered 
worthy  of  credit  toward  university  degrees. 

The  University  of  London  for  some  years  has 
been  holding  examination  for  students  in  peda- 
gogy, said  examinations  being  open  to  graduates 
of  that  institution  and  of  other  approved  univer- 
sities. Whether  the  University  of  London,  under 
its  new  management,  provides  for  the  teaching  of 
education  courses,  I  have  not  been  able  to  learn. 
The  student  that  successfully  passes  the  educa- 
tion examination  is  granted  the  "Teachers'  Di- 
ploma." Preparation  for  the  passing  of  the  ex- 
amination can  be  made  at  the  London  Day  Train- 
ing College,  which  is  supported  by  the  London 
County  Council,  of  which  John  Adams,  the  author 
of  "Herbartian  Psychology  Applied  to  Educa- 
tion," is  principal. 

In  Edinburgh  University,  the  organization  of 
which  embraces  the  six  faculties  (we  would  call 
them  departments),  of  arts,  science,  divinity,  law, 
medicine  and  music,  education  is  assigned  to  the 
department  (school)  of  philosophy,  which  is  one 
of  the  four  departments  (schools)  of  the  faculty 
of  arts.  For  carrying  on  the  work  of  education 
there  is  one  professor,  who  gives  a  course  each 
in  the  theory  of  education,  the  art  of  education, 
and  the  history  of  education. 

In  Glasgow  University  education  is  likewise 
confined  to  the  school  of  mental  philosophy,  which 
is  a  part  of  the  faculty  of  arts.  The  education 
courses  at  Glasgow  consist  of  one  hundred  lee- 


120     DEPARTMENT  OF  EDUCATION  IN 

iures  dealing  with  the  theory,  art,  and  history  of 
education. 

In  St.  Andrews,  the  oldest  of  the  Scotch  uni- 
versities, there  is  an  education  professorship, 
ranking  with  the  professorship  of  Greek,  mathe- 
matics, etc.,  some  subjects,  such  as  French,  physi- 
ology, political  science,  being  assigned  to  lecture- 
ships. 

In  Aberdeen  University  education  courses  are 
organized  as  a  lectureship  under  the  aegis  of  the 
faculty  of  arts.  In  Aberdeen,  furthermore,  there 
has  been  recently  formulated  a  scheme  providing 
for  the  training  of  secondary  teachers.  This 
work  will  be  open  to  graduates  only  and  to  those 
who  may  otherwise  satisfy  the  Senate  of  their  fit- 
ness to  profit  by  the  training.  The  course  is  to 
extend  over  a  year  and,  besides  lectures,  will  in- 
clude discussions,  essays,  and  reports  upon  prac- 
tical work.  Aberdeen  grants  a  diploma  in  edu- 
cation which  presupposes  the  holding  of  the  M.  A. 
degree. 

In  German  universities  education  courses,  as  a 
rule,  are  given  by  professors  of  philosophy.9  The 
Deutscher  Universitats  Kalender,  Leipzig,  1905 
(Vol.  I),  reports  only  two  full  professors  giving 
their  whole  time  to  education  courses.  One  of 
these  is  an  honorary  professor  and  the  other  is 
in  the  theological  faculty.  In  addition  to  these 
two  full-time  professors,  there  are  reported  fif- 
teen professors  and  assistant  professors  and 

»  See  Appendix. 


COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES     121 

eleven  privat  docenten,  each  of  whom  divides  his 
labors  between  education  and  some  other  subject. 
There  are  reported  six  lecturers,  also,  making  a 
total  of  thirty-four  men  identified  with  education 
courses  given  in  twenty-one  German  universities, 
in  which  opportunity  to  study  education  is  of- 
fered. 

The  German  university  is  organized  into  the 
four  departments,  or  faculties,  philosophy,  the- 
ology, law,  and  medicine,  the  philosophy  faculty 
corresponding  to  the  American  college  of  arts,  or 
academic  department.  Up  to  this  time  there  has 
been  no  disposition  on  the  part  of  educational 
leaders  in  Germany  to  remove  education  from  the 
position  of  one  of  the  subjects  in  the  philosophy 
faculty  and  to  elevate  it  to  the  rank  of  a  faculty 
itself. 

In  this  connection  we  should  not  forget  that, 
in  Prussia,  at  least,  the  professional  training  of 
the  teacher  in  the  secondary  school  is  promoted 
by  agencies  outside  the  universities.  The  univer- 
sity graduate,  undergoing  a  protracted  and 
searching  examination,  spends  a  year,  his  Semi- 
narjahr,  in  professional  study  in  an  educational 
seminary  organically  related  with  a  secondary 
school  which  maintains  a  nine-year  course  of 
study.  The  next  year,  the  Probejdhr,  he  serves 
under  constant  and  expert  supervision  as  an  as- 
sistant teacher  in  a  secondary  school.  However 
great  may  be  the  quantity  of  this  training,  and 
however  excellent  its  quality,  it  is  not  within  the 


DEPARTMENT  OF  EDUCATION  IN 

purpose  of  this  paper  to  inquire.  We  are  now 
interested  in  the  German  university's  contribu- 
tion in  this  direction.  This  contribution  is  de- 
scribed by  Paulsen,  of  the  University  of  Berlin, 
as  follows: 

"The  third  task  of  the  philosophical  faculty  is  to 
prepare  teachers  for  the  higher  schools.  Here  we 
meet  the  peculiarity  that  practically  no  special  ar- 
rangements are  made  for  this  purpose  in  the  course 
of  instruction;  preparation  to  become  a  teacher  is 
simply  synonymous  with  the  equipment  of  a 
scholar."  10 

In  the  University  of  Paris  education  courses 
are  in  the  domain  of  the  faculty  of  arts.  Until 
recently,  when  he  was  elected  Deputy,  M.  Buisson 
was  in  charge  of  the  education  work,  delivering 
lectures  on  Mondays,  Tuesdays  and  Saturdays. 

At  the  University  of  Bordeaux  a  professor  in 
the  faculty  of  letters  directs  the  education  work. 
On  Thursdays  he  deals  with  questions  of  moral 
education,  on  Saturdays  he  explains  pedagogical 
authors,  and  on  Mondays  he  looks  into  the  semi- 
nar work  of  candidates  for  the  Doctor's  degree. 

In  Australian  universities  there  is  only  one  pro- 
fessor of  education,  the  Principal  of  the  Teachers' 
Training  College  acting  as  an  honorary  profes- 
sor in  the  University  of  Melbourne  and  giving 
extension  lectures  on  education.  There  is,  how- 
to  Paulsen's  "German  Universities,"  p.  416. 


COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES 

ever,  an  agitation  for  the  endowment  and  inaugu- 
ration of  chairs  in  the  three  large  universities  of 
Adelaide,  Sydney  and  Melbourne.  In  each  Aus- 
tralian state  there  are  normal  schools  and  a  teach- 
ers' training  college. 

In  New  South  Wales  teachers  may  obtain  their 
bachelor's  degrees  by  attending  evening  lectures 
at  the  university,  while  successful  young  teachers 
are  sometimes  given  leave  of  absence  on  salary  for 
three  or  four  years  to  attend  day  lectures,  their 
university  fees  being  paid  for  them.  In  this  way 
they  obtain  the  bachelor's  degree;  but  they  must 
enter  into  bond  for  their  fees,  to  be  paid  should 
they  leave  the  service  within  ten  years  from  gradu- 
ation. 

III.    HOW  SHALL  THE  EDUCATION  WORK  IN 

COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES  BE 

ORGANIZED? 

The  facts  set  forth  in  the  first  and  second  sec- 
tions of  this  paper  are  ample  evidence  that,  from 
the  standpoint  of  the  individual,  teaching  is  con- 
sidered a  most  important  practical  function  of 
modern  society.  Other  similar  testimony,  almost 
without  limit,  is  easily  available.  The  immense 
sums  of  money  spent  annually  upon  schools  for 
children,  youths  and  adults  in  every  civilized  na- 
tion settles  the  question  as  to  the  value  set  upon 
the  services  of  the  schoolmaster.  His  labor,  as 
regarded  from  the  civic  and  the  spiritual  point  of 
view,  also,  not  infrequently  in  these  later  days, 


DEPARTMENT  OF  EDUCATION  IN 

receives  the  highest  commendation.  This  para- 
graph, taken  from  an  address  delivered  by  Presi- 
dent Robert  C.  Ogden  before  the  Ninth  Annual 
Session  of  the  Conference  for  Education  in  the 
South,  held  in  Lexington,  Ky.,  in  April,  1906,  is 
fairly  representative  of  the  increasing  faith  6f 
the  American  people  in  the  far-reaching  influence 

of  the  men  and  women  engaged  in  teaching: 

•*^ 

"The  school  teachers  of  America  are  the  trustees 
of  our  democracy.  By  them  our  bulwark  of  intelli- 
gence is  made  strong  or  made  weak.  But  they^re 
strong  as  we  sustain  them,  and  they  are  weak  as  we 
desert  them.  When  this  country  realizes  its  depend- 
ence upon,  and  obligation  to  the  teachers  of  America, 
the  least  appreciated  of  all  who  serve  society  and  the 
state,  then  will  appear  the  Golden  Age.  the 
teacher,  not  the  millionaire,  is  the  hope  of  the  state. 
The  richest  man  or  woman  is  the  teacher  to  whom  the 
gratitude  of  former  scholars  is  offered  in  affection- 
ate and  enduring  homage.  Such  an  one  has  riches 
that  gold  cannot  buy  and  an  estate  that  is  beyond  all 
risk  of  fire  and  flood,  earthquake  and  volcano."  X1 

Along  with  this  respect  for  the  teacher's  work 
has  been  developed  the  conviction  that  a  calling 
so  important  individually  and  socially  demands 
special  study  upon  the  part  of  those  preparing 
to  discharge  its  difficult  and  delicate  functions. 
This  accounts  for  the  fact  that  teaching  as  a  sub- 
ject of  study  found  a  place  in  the  curriculum  of 
11  Southern  Educational  Review,  October,  1906,  pp.  10-11. 


COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES     125 

the  normal  school,  an  institution  founded  pri- 
marily to  prepare  teachers  for  positions  in  the 
elementary  grades,  a  purpose  by  which  to  this 
day  it  is  dominated.  The  universities,  further- 
more, at  home  and  abroad  have  given  recognition 
to  the  study  of  education  because  of  both  its  dis- 
ciplinary and  its  practical  value.  It  is  true,  as 
remarked  in  the  first  section  of  this  paper,  that 
there  are  some  people  who  have  not  yet  accepted 
the  concurrent  judgment  of  educational  leaders 
upon  this  matter.  Such  minds,  suffering  from 
either  too  little  education  or  from  much  misdi- 
rected education  or  from  feebleness  of  imagination 
or  from  inability  to  comprehend  or  to  love  new 
truth,  are  not  such  as  need  to  be  addressed  in  a 
paper  of  this  character.  If  it  be  admitted  that 
the  modern  university  is  under  bond  to  preserve, 
propagate  and  extend  all  forms  of  learning  that 
minister  to  the  welfare  of  the  several  professions 
in  which  men  are  engaged,  it  is  certain  that  the 
profession  of  teaching  should  not  be  overlooked, 
for  it  is  one  which,  as  old  Mulcaster  said  away 
back  in  the  sixteenth  century,  "maybe  not  be 
spared."  But,  surely,  we  may  consider  it  no 
longer  necessary  to  debate  the  question  whether 
teachers  should  make  special  preparation  for  their 
work.  "Train  your  teachers,"  says  an  English 
writer,  "has  long  been  the  cry.  .  .  .  But  the 
task  of  crying  in  the  wilderness  is  a  pleasure  com- 
pared with  fighting  with  wild  beasts  at  Ephesus ; 
in  other  words,  the  chief  difficulties  in  connection 


126    DEPARTMENT  OF  EDUCATION  IN 

with  this  side  of  educational  progress  arise  only 
when  actual  schemes  are  under  discussion."  12 
Let  us  now  consider  some  of  the  more  important 
features  in  the  organization  of  this  work  in  col- 
lege or  university. 

In  the  first  place,  in  view  of  the  evidence  al- 
ready submitted  that  education  is,  in  point  of 
difficulty  and  dignity,  the  peer  of  law  or  medi- 
cine, it  seems  certain  that  it  should  enjoy  the 
benefits  of  that  organization  which  is  granted  to 
the  professions  already  thoroughly  established. 
In  America  the  professional  college,  or  depart- 
ment, is  granted  an  organization  distinct  from, 
and  independent  of,  the  college,  or  department,  of 
arts.  It  is  precisely  this  recognition  which  edu- 
cation is  now  vigorously  striving  to  obtain 
throughout  the  country,  a  recognition  which  the 
signs  of  the  times  indicate  will  be  achieved  within 
the  life  of  men  now  members  of  this  association. 
It  was  during  the  Nineteenth  Century  that  the 
professional  education  of  the  lawyer  and  the  phy- 
sician was  scientifically  organized,  and  was 
raised  to  the  plane  of  efficiency  and  respectabil- 
ity; one  of  the  most  important  duties  of  the 
Twentieth  Century  is  to  perform  a  similar 
service  for  the  professional  education  of  the 
teacher. 

The  advantages  of  organizing  the  teacher's 
work  into  a  department,  or  college,  are  numerous. 
Only  some  of  the  more  important  of  these  advan- 

12  Adkins  in  Westminster  Review,  February,  1905,  p.  177. 


COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES     127 

tages  can,  at  this  time,  be  noted.  It  is  obvious 
that  the  department  organization  at  once  regis- 
ters in  the  most  authoritative  and  effective  way 
the  university's  conviction  that  teaching  is,  in- 
deed, a  profession  worthy  to  rank  with  other  pro- 
fessions, and,  consequently,  worthy  of  the  loyalty 
and  best  service  of  men  of  talent  and  determina- 
tion. The  force  of  this  contention  is,  by  some 
people,  lightly  esteemed;  but  even  casual  investi- 
gation reveals  the  fact  that  universities  have  uni- 
formly exercised  powerful  influence  in  molding 
educational  public  opinion,  and  that,  in  no  former 
century,  has  that  influence  been  so  widespread  and 
effective  as  it  is  to-day. 

Another  desirable  result  from  the  department 
organization  is  to  add  to  the  student-body  of  the 
university  a  large  number  of  serious-minded,  ca- 
pable students,  the  influence  of  whom,  for  reasons 
over  and  above  mere  increase  of  attendance,  is 
not  to  be  despised  by  professors  and  administra- 
tive officers. 

A  third  benefit,  and  one  not  easy  to  overesti- 
mate, is  that  the  department  organization  devel- 
ops in  prospective  teachers  an  esprit  de  corps,  or, 
as  the  sociologist  would  express  it,  a  kind  of  class 
consciousness.  Any  one  familiar  with  college  life 
will  testify  to  the  value  and  vigor  of  that  species 
of  college  spirit  engendered  by  the  common  in- 
terests which  bind  together  all  the  students  of  a 
department.  As  long  as  the  education  student 
remains  in  the  college  of  arts  he  is  simply  an  arts 


128    DEPARTMENT  OF  EDUCATION  IN 

student,  and  he  either  fails  to  manifest  any  sense 
of  professional  spirit  at  all,  or,  making  the  at- 
tempt to  do  so,  he  soon  finds  that  he  is  "lone  wan- 
dering, if  not  lost."  The  love  for  one's  profes- 
sion (it  is  but  a  truism  to  remark,  but  even  tru- 
isms in  education  are  sometimes  called  in  question) 
determines  in  large  measure  the  degree  of  his  con- 
secration to  its  service,  as  well  as  the  character 
of  his  achievements  therein.  The  world,  looking 
on,  makes  up  its  verdict  concerning  any  profession 
precisely  in  accordance  with  the  judgment  which 
the  profession  makes  of  itself.  If  the  college 
plan  of  organization  should  lead  teachers  to  mag- 
nify their  own  office,  not  by  word  of  mouth  only, 
but  also  by  dignified  professional  conduct,  that 
consummation  alone  would  justify  such  organiza- 
tion. 

Again,  the  department  of  education,  vigorously 
and  generously  administered,  guarantees  the  cer- 
tainty of  reproducing  in  large  geometrical  ratio 
university  scholarship  and  ideals,  for  the  very  na- 
ture of  the  teaching  function  itself  constitutes 
every  one  that  exercises  it  a  prophet  and  a  priest 
of  learning.  The  dignity  of  the  professional  de- 
partment appeals  emphatically  to  ambitious  and 
gifted  men  and  women,  upon  whom,  as  teachers, 
more  than  upon  any  other  or  all  other  classes  of 
students,  the  university  must  depend  in  the  dis- 
charge of  one  of  its  greatest  duties,  the  duty  of 
fostering  educational  progress.  Have  we  not, 
then,  substantial  grounds  for  rejoicing  when  we 


COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES     129 

are  reminded  that  the  modern  university  is  resum- 
ing the  function  of  educating  teachers,  a  func- 
tion which  was  regarded  as  fundamental  by  the 
mediaeval  university,  crowded  as  it  was  with  men 
eager  to  learn  and  afterward  to  teach? 

Among  the  questions  demanding  consideration 
none  is  more  important  than  the  question  of  re- 
quirements for  admission  into,  and  graduation 
from,  the  university  department  of  education. 
With  respect  to  one  thing  there  should  be  no  dis- 
agreement— university  standards  should  be  main- 
tained. No  professional  school  should  have  the 
right  to  bestow  the  honor  of  university  gradua- 
tion upon  students  for  the  completion  of  courses 
of  instruction  inferior  as  to  time-limits  or  as  to 
the  quality  of  work  required.  Those  universities 
that  are  conferring  teachers'  degrees  upon  can- 
didates of  only  junior  rank  are  pursuing  a  mis- 
taken policy,  whether  it  be  regarded  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  university  or  from  that  of  the 
professional  teacher. 

It  is  perfectly  clear,  also,  that  graduation  re- 
quirements should  include  a  liberal  number  of 
courses  in  education.  Professional  insight  and 
spirit  are  plants  of  slow  growth,  and  can  scarcely 
be  developed  beyond  the  embryonic  stage,  much 
less  to  maturity,  by  only  one  or  two  three-hour-a- 
week  courses  for  a  semester  or  two.  At  least  two- 
thirds  of  the  required  courses  of  the  average 
medical  college  is  strictly  professional,  the  re- 
maining one-third  being  more  or  less  closely  re- 


130    DEPARTMENT  OF  EDUCATION  IN 

lated  to  medicine.  In  the  usual  college  of  law 
nearly  all  the  courses  are  of  the  professional  type. 
So,  too,  if  we  believe  that  the  instruction  of  teach- 
ers along  professional  lines  is  necessary,  we  should 
show  our  faith  by  our  works,  and  should  require 
it  in  sufficient  quantity  to  accomplish  professional 
results.  Awaiting  the  manifestation  of  such  faith, 
we  may  reasonably  expect  the  United  States  Com- 
missioner of  Education,  in  his  annual  reports  upon 
professional  education,  to  continue  to  furnish 
comprehensive  accounts  concerning  law,  theology, 
medicine,  dentistry,  pharmacy,  and  veterinary 
medicine,  and  to  make  teaching  conspicuous  by 
its  absence  from  the  list  of  professions  meriting 
his  attention.  The  opinion  is  here  advanced  that, 
as  a  minimum,  there  should  be  required  for  grad- 
uation five  professional  courses,  the  time-require- 
ment of  each  course  being  three  lecture-hours  a 
week  throughout  the  academic  year.  Certain  aca- 
demic instruction  may,  furthermore,  be  regarded 
as  quasi-professional.  Any  subject  in  which  the 
student  is  specializing  and  in  which,  after  gradua- 
tion, he  himself  will  instruct  students,  rightfully 
belongs  in  the  professional  category.  Just  as  the 
lawyer-to-be  studies  law,  which  he  will  later  use 
in  his  practice,  so  the  education  student  that  is 
to  become  a  teacher  of  mathematics,  say,  pursues 
arts  courses  in  that  subject  in  order  to  acquire 
not  only  academic,  but  also  professional,  culture. 
This  peculiarly  intimate  relationship  of  the  edu- 
cation with  the  arts  department,  a  relationship 


COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES     131 

not  enjoyed  so  largely  by  other  professional  de- 
partments, is  understood  none  too  well.  It,  there- 
fore, seems  expedient  to  say  with  emphasis  that 
the  proper  organization  of  a  department  of  edu- 
cation makes  ample  provision  for  the  prosecution 
of  academic  courses  as  no  small  portion  of  the 
teacher's  professional  equipment. 

It  may  seem  idle  to  suggest  that  the  strictly 
professional  courses  should  bear  the  unmistakable 
stamp  of  university  thoroughness;  but  occasion- 
ally one  hears,  even  from  unsuspected  sources, 
that  these  courses  are  wanting  in  more  than  one 
vital  particular.  For  example,  President  Ament, 
of  the  State  Normal  School  in  Warrensburg,  Mis- 
souri, in  an  address  delivered  before  the  Southern 
Educational  Association  in  November,  1905,  thus 
delivered  himself  of  rather  positive  convictions 
concerning  pedagogy  in  American  universities: 

"Barring,  possibly,  the  work  of  Stanley  Hall,  at 
Clark  University,  little  or  no  real  university  work 
in  education  has  been  done  in  our  country.  The  work 
at  Columbia  University  is  too  much  on  the  order  of 
the  normal  school  to  measure  up  to  the  standard 
we  have  in  mind.  The  departments  of  education  in 
some  of  our  universities  are  sorry  affairs.  They  deal 
out  a  sort  of  quasi-educational  philosophy,  tinctured 
with  a  mild  infusion  of  pedagogy  of  very  doubtful 
value,  doing  on  the  whole  work  far  inferior  to  that  of 
our  best  normal  schools.  I  do  not  know  what  De- 
Garmo  is  doing  at  Cornell,  but  I  believe,  if  his  hands 
are  not  tied,  he  will  eventually  create  a  university 


DEPARTMENT  OF  EDUCATION  IN 

faculty  of  education  that  will  accomplish  work  in  this 
greatest  and  most  serviceable  of  all  departments  that 
will  measure  up  to  university  requirements — a  faculty 
under  whom  experienced  teachers  could  study  with 
real  profit — a  faculty  whose  publications  would  be 
sought  by  thinkers  throughout  the  educational  field. 
As  students  in  such  a  department  none  but  experienced 
teachers  or  normal  graduates  should  be  admitted."  13 

Though  President  Ament's  verdict  as  to  peda- 
gogy in  our  universities  may  be  open  to  drastic 
criticism,  yet  his  declaration  as  to  the  insufficiency 
and  inefficiency  of  our  work  would  be  endorsed  by 
not  a  few  people  to-day  connected  with  American 
institutions  of  learning.  Our  best  reply  to  such 
attacks  is  to  see  to  it  that  our  education  courses 
"make  good." 

Somewhat  foreign  to  tbis  discussion  is  the  ques- 
tion of  what  professional  courses  should  be  offered 
to  education  students,  and  what  ones  should  be 
required  of  them.  This  question  is  of  sufficient 
magnitude  and  importance  to  be  the  theme  for  a 
separate  paper  to  be  discussed  by  this  associa- 
tion. Let  me  dismiss  the  question  here  by  calling 
attention  to  what  is  reported  from  many  quar- 
ters as  a  great  defect  in  our  education  work,  i.  e., 
the  failure  to  furnish  opportunities  for  system- 
atic observation  and  practice  under  competent 
supervision.  Dr.  Frank  McMurry,  in  answer 
to  question  6  of  the  questionnaire  makes  a  special 

13  Proceedings  of  the  Southern  Educational  Association, 
for  1905,  pp.  114-115. 


COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES     133 

plea  for  the  doctrine  that,  in  education,  training 
enters  as  a  necessary  element,  a  view  held  by 
Aristotle  and  by  Plutarch  when  they  maintained 
that,  in  human  development,  the  three  factors, 
nature,  habit,  and  reason,  are  to  be  taken  into 
account. 

The  academic  attainments  to  be  exacted  of  the 
candidate  for  entrance  into  the  education  depart- 
ment are  yet  within  the  region  of  debate.  The 
University  of  the  City  of  New  York  would  make  a 
Bachelor's  degree  the  prerequisite,  which  is,  es- 
sentially, Prussia's  policy  concerning  teachers  of 
secondary  schools.  I  am  convinced,  however, 
that,  if  this  be  the  ideally  correct  policy,  Ameri- 
can universities,  particularly  those  under  state 
control,  are  not  yet  ready  for  its  inauguration. 
Our  graduate  departments  are  still  in  their  in- 
fancy, and  the  number  of  graduate  students  is 
small.  The  task  before  the  state  university  to- 
day is  to  give  to  the  country  annually  many 
teachers  qualified  for  high-school  positions,  for 
principalships,  and  for  superintendencies  of 
schools,  and  successful  in  a  superlative  degree 
would  be  the  accomplishment  of  that  task  if  only 
education  graduates  of  the  bachelor's  rank  were 
employed  in  those  positions. 

By  some,  including  Professor  Hill,  of  Missouri 
University,  and  Professor  Bennett,  of  the  Louisi- 
ana State  University,  it  is  believed  wise  to  admit 
freshman  students  to  education  courses.  Still 
others  are  of  the  opinion,  which  is  the  prevailing 


134    DEPARTMENT  OF  EDUCATION  IN 

one,  that  only  students  of  junior  standing  or 
higher  should  be  permitted  to  enter  upon  the  study 
of  education.  There  is  not  wanting  argument 
in  behalf  of  each  of  these  views;  but  the  matter 
is  yet  among  the  many  educational  problems  that 
are  awaiting  solution. 

Again,  what  degree  or  degrees  should  be 
granted  by  the  department  of  education,  is  one  of 
the  vexing  questions  invariably  arising  when  ef- 
fort is  made  to  formulate  regulations  which  des- 
ignate and  control  the  functions  and  relationships 
of  that  department.  It  has  already  been  pointed 
out  that  uniformity  as  to  the  bachelor's  degree  to 
be  conferred  upon  education  students  does  not  ob- 
tain. In  some  institutions  the  Bachelor  of  Arts 
degree  is  bestowed;  in  other  universities  Bachelor 
of  Arts  in  Education,  Bachelor  of  Science,  Bach- 
elor of  Science  in  Education,  Bachelor  of  Peda- 
gogy, Bachelor  of  Education,  and  Licentiate  of 
Instruction,  respectively,  are  the  badges  signif- 
icant of  the  teacher's  professional  culture. 
Which  of  these  degrees,  if  any  of  them,  is  to  be 
preferred? 

In  answer  let  us  eliminate  at  once  from  the  dis- 
cussion the  contention,  not  infrequently  made, 
that  the  whole  degree-granting  system  should  be 
abolished.  That  system,  right  or  wrong,'  is  thor- 
oughly engrafted  upon  university  organization, 
and  its  overthrow  is  a  matter  of  concern  only  to 
minds  that  revel  in  the  region  of  pure  thinking. 


COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES     135 

Another  elimination,  it  seems  reasonable,  should 
be  made,  viz.:  that  no  purely  academic  degree 
should  be  shared  by  the  arts  department  with  a 
professional  department.  This  second  elimination 
is,  of  course,  debatable;  but,  taking  the  situation 
as  it  is  to-day,  it  seems  the  part  of  practical  wis- 
dom to  freely  admit  that,  though  the  boundary 
line  between  academic  and  professional  culture  is, 
at  least,  variable  and,  at  times,  indistinct,  aca- 
demic degrees  belong  only  to  the  college  of  arts, 
which,  it  is  commonly  believed,  functions  for  the 
sake  of  general  culture.  The  conclusion,  there- 
fore, is  unavoidable  that  a  degree  having  pro- 
fessional significance  be  set  aside  for  edu- 
cation students.  Because  of  the  intimate  re- 
lations existing  between  the  education  depart- 
ment of  the  college  of  arts,  to  which  reference 
was  made  above,  because  of  the  fact  that  edu- 
cation courses,  certainly  in  the  main,  may 
themselves  well  be  considered  as  arts  courses, 
and  because  of  the  additional  fact,  that  by  far 
the  greater  portion  of  the  teacher's  professional 
education  is  along  academic  lines,  it  is  not  unrea- 
sonable to  grant  to  the  teacher  a  degree  in  which 
the  term  arts  should  be  included.  The  opinion, 
however,  has  already  been  advanced  that  a  pro- 
fessional term  should  likewise  characterize  the  de- 
gree. It  is,  therefore,  recommended  that  the  de- 
gree of  Bachelor  of  Arts  in  Education  would 
fairly  represent  the  two  elements  of  culture,  aca- 


136     DEPARTMENT  OF  EDUCATION  IN 

demic  and  professional.  Unquestionably  the 
tendency  in  the  American  college  world  is  toward 
a  single  Bachelor's  degree  for  academic  students, 
that  is,  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  which,  in 
the  English-speaking  world,  has  long  been  the 
badge  signifying  a  liberal  education.  It  is  for 
this  reason  that  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts 
in  Education  is  to  be  preferred  to  Bachelor  of 
Science  in  Education. 

Lack  of  time  forbids  a  discussion  of  the  ad- 
vanced degrees  that  should  be  conferred  upon  edu- 
cation students.  Reasons  for  favoring  the  de- 
grees of  Master  of  Arts  and  Doctor  of  Philoso- 
phy, and  others,  equally  valid,  perhaps,  in  behalf 
of  Master  of  Arts  in  Education  and  Doctor  of 
Education,  could  easily  be  found.  The  question, 
however,  is  passed  up  for  consideration,  if  it  be 
deemed  advisable,  at  the  approaching  meeting  of 
our  society. 

One  other  matter,  which  I  shall  scarcely  more 
than  mention,  is  that  all  students  seeking  prepara- 
tion for  teaching  be  required  to  elect  their  courses 
in  conference  with  some  member  of  the  education 
faculty.  It  would  be  advisable,  in  fact,  that  even 
a  freshman  whose  intention  it  is  to  become  a 
teacher,  should  elect  his  entire  college  course  with 
the  advice  and  consent  of  the  department  of  edu- 
cation. This  policy  now  obtains  in  The  Univer- 
sity of  Texas. 

In  the  foregoing  discussion  no  attempt  has  been 


COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES     137 

made  to  define  the  relations  which  a  school  of  edu- 
cation should  bear  to  other  schools  and  to  the  va- 
rious departments,  or  colleges,  of  the  university. 
To  determine  such  relations  would  be  exceedingly 
easy,  indeed.  There  is  little,  if  any,  doubt  that 
under  such  conditions,  education  should  be  con- 
sidered as  one  of  the  arts,  and  therefore  should 
have  such  standing  as  is  accorded  any  other  of 
the  arts  schools.  Though  the  argument  herein- 
before submitted,  has  been,  I  trust,  sufficiently 
clear  and  ample  to  show  that  organization 
as  a  school  is,  under  the  present  circumstances, 
neither  wise  nor  just,  yet  local  conditions  may, 
of  necessity,  at  times  dictate  such  organi- 
zation. Where  only  one  professor  of  education 
can  be  employed,  it  is  beyond  reason  to  expect 
him  to  conduct  the  minimum  number  of  courses 
which  should  be  required  of  all  students  as- 
piring to  graduation  from  the  education  depart- 
ment. 

To  recapitulate:  In  the  foregoing  discussion 
attempt  has  been  made  to  establish  these  general 
propositions : 

(1)  The  education  work  in  the  unversity  should 
be  organized  as  a  department  coordinate  with 
other  professional  departments. 

(£)  The  education  department's  requirements 
for  admission  and  graduation  should,  at  least, 
not  fall  below  similar  requirements  in  other  de- 
partments. 


138    DEPARTMENT  OF  EDUCATION  IN 

(3)  Both   the   academic   and  the   professional 
work    required    of    educational    students    should 
be  respectable  as  to  quantity  and  quality. 

(4)  The  Bachelor's  degree  to  be  conferred  by 
the  department  of  education  should  be  the  Bach- 
elor of  Arts  in  Education. 

(5)  The  university  courses  of  all  prospective 
teachers  should  be  chosen  under  the  direction  of 
the  department  of  education. 

A  word  now,  in  conclusion,  as  to  the  future  of 
our  work.  While  the  world  is  gradually  coming 
to  the  appreciation  of  the  great  truth,  that  edu- 
cation is  conscious  evolution,  it  must  be  the  one 
comprehensive  purpose  of  the  university  move- 
ment for  the  professional  education  of  teachers 
to  give  emphasis  to  the  conscious,  or  voluntary, 
element  in  the  process.  That  movement,  in  order 
to  deserve  and  to  secure  the  most  liberal  encour- 
agement, should  not  strive  to  erect  colossal  joss- 
houses  for  the  idolatrous  worship  of  pedagogy ;  it 
should  not  be  the  means  of  encouraging  profes- 
sional phariseeism  among  teachers ;  and  it  should 
not  seek  to  establish  organizations  conspicuous  on 
account  of  merely  external  proportions.  On  the 
contrary,  it  should  clearly  demonstrate  its  con- 
secration to  the  twin  causes  of  genuine  learning 
and  rational  teaching;  building  upon  the  wisdom 
of  the  past  and  conserving  that  of  the  present,  it 
should  extend  modestly,  but  surely,  the  confines 
of  the  knowledge  of  education;  and,  finally,  it 


COLLEGES  AND  UNIVERSITIES     139 

should  contribute  its  reasonable  service  in  the 
working  of  what  seems  to  be  the  will  of  God  in 
the  spiritual  disenthralment  of  our  modern  dem- 
ocratic society. 


VII 


CONTRIBUTIONS  OF  WILLIAM   TORREY 

HARRIS  TO  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF 

EDUCATION  IN  AMERICA  * 

Within  the  short  time-limit  assigned  to  this 
paper,  it  is  impossible  to  treat,  in  an  adequate 
manner,  the  educational  contributions  of  the  man 
in  whose  honor  we  are  assembled.  Your  attention 
is,  therefore,  invited  to  a  brief  discussion  of  only 
three  importants  phases  of  a  life,  all  of  which,  it 
may  be  truthfully  said,  was  dedicated  to  the  cause 
of  education. 

I.  PROFESSIONAL  STUDY  OF  EDUCATION 
The  first  precious  gift  which  Dr.  Harris  laid 
upon  the  educational  altar  was  a  continuous,  con- 
scientious, thorough,  scientific,  and  philosophic 
study  of  the  profession  of  teaching.  More  than 
any  other  man  of  his  generation  did  he  have  first- 
hand acquaintance  with  the  various  phases  of  edu- 
cational theory  and  practice.  There  had  been 
great  educational  leaders  in  this  country  before 
his  day.  Horace  Mann,  for  example,  had  mani- 
fested great  insight  with  respect  to  popular  edu- 

1  A  paper  read  January  25,  1910,  in  Austin,  Texas,  at  a 
memorial  service  held  in  honor  of  W.  T.  Harris  by  the 
Students'  Association  of  the  Department  of  Education  of 
The  University  of  Texas. 

140 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  EDUCATION    141 

cation,  and  there  had  been  men  of  marked  ability 
in  the  college  world;  but,  unquestionably,  Dr. 
Harris  was  our  first  truly  great  educational  phi- 
losopher, the  first  American  who,  because  of  long 
and  earnest  study  of  the  psychology,  the  history, 
and  the  philosophy  of  education,  was  prepared, 
and,  therefore,  was  entitled,  to  speak  with  such 
confidence  as  was  enjoyed  by  none  of  his  prede- 
cessors, in  this  country  and  by  exceedingly  few, 
if  any,  of  his  contemporaries.  When  we  remem- 
ber that,  sometimes,  even  where  least  expected, 
there  is  entertained  the  belief  that  for  the  teacher 
no  professional  study  of  education  whatever  is 
necessary,  and  when  we  not  infrequently  hear  the 
contention  that  the  completion  of  three  or  four 
more  or  less  elementary  and  introductory  courses 
in  the  study  of  education  is  all-sufficient,  we  have 
all  the  greater  admiration  for  him  who  demon- 
strated the  worth  and  the  wisdom  of  life-long  de- 
votion to  a  subject  so  intimately  connected  with 
the  progress  of  the  school  and  the  welfare  of  the 
race. 

It  was  by  means  of  his  philosophic  study  of 
education  that  Dr.  Harris  attained  remarkable 
insight  into  its  several  problems.  Dissatisfied 
with  partial  views,  he  sought  for  the  ultimate 
meanings  of  things,  it  being  the  universal  alone 
with  which  he  could  be  content.  Accordingly, 
the  narrow,  one-sided  aims  often  proposed  for 
education  by  laymen  or  superficial  educational 
amateurs,  seem  trifling  in  comparison  with  his  view 


WILLIAM  TORREY  HARRIS  AND 

upon  the  same  subject.  With  him,  education  is 
a  world-building  process,  whether  considered  from 
the  standpoint  of  civilization  or  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  individual.  With  him,  education  has 
for  its  supreme  end  the  elevation  of  the  individual 
to  the  level  of  the  species,  or,  in  other  words,  the 
adjustment  of  the  individual  to  his  environment 
so  that  he  may  participate  in  the  blessings,  in  the 
activities,  and  in  the  progress  of  the  institutions 
into  which  he  is  born,  and  in  which  he  is  to  live 
his  physical  and  spiritual  life.  This  elevation, 
however,  is  not  to  be  accomplished  by  a  mechan- 
ical, but  by  a  self-active  process,  and  is  to  lead 
to  the  self-determination  of  the  individual.  Edu- 
cation, as  Dr.  Harris  understood  it,  is  distinctively 
a  means  of  sociological  evolution.  He  consid- 
ered it  a  truism  that  "man  has  two  natures,  one 
as  animal,  as  individual,  as  passive  product  of 
heredity  and  of  his  physical  environment, — and 
the  other  nature  realized  in  institutions,  as  the 
family,  civil  society,  the  church,  and  the  state." 
His  splendid  professional  study  likewise 
brought  to  him  clearness,  as  well  as  breadth  and 
depth,  of  thinking  concerning  the  manifold  means 
by  which  man  is  to  accomplish  the  end  in  educa- 
tion. It  was  his  ability  to  think  into  unity  the 
great  diversity  of  elements  found  in  the  complex 
problem  that  enabled  him  to  evaluate  in  a  master- 
ful way  the  culture-materials  for  the  elementary 
school,  for  the  secondary  school,  for  the  college, 
and  for  the  university,  and  that  gave  him  the 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  EDUCATION     143 

power  to  designate,  without  difficulty,  the  respec- 
tive functions  of  the  traditional  studies,  as  well  as 
the  newer  ones,  including  object  lessons,  the  nat- 
ural sciences,  modern  languages,  and  vocational 
subjects.  It  is  not  surprising  that  this  extremely 
delicate  and  difficult  task  could  be  so  easily  ac- 
complished by  him,  for  he  was  accustomed  for 
years  and  years  to  commune  with  such  choice 
spirits  as  Socrates,  Plato,  Aristotle,  Comenius, 
Fichte,  Rousseau,  Kant,  Herbart,  Hegel,  and 
Rosenkranz,  and  he  had,  thereby,  endowed  him- 
self with  the  wisdom  of  the  centuries.  This  train- 
ing enabled  him,  as  Emerson  would  say,  "to  re- 
sist the  usurpation  of  particulars,  to  penetrate 
to  the  catholic  sense  of  things,  to  disregard  what 
the  mere  moment  might  dictate,  and  to  listen  for 
what  the  years  and  the  centuries  might  say."  2 

Again,  it  was  his  splendid  professional  study 
that  led  him  to  adopt  sane  theories  concerning 
problems  relating  to  professional  education,  in- 
cluding the  professional  education  of  the  teacher. 
From  this  same  source  he  was  qualified  to  speak 
convincingly  concerning  rational  method  in  in- 
struction, in  school  management,  and  in  the  larger 
field  of  school  administration  and  supervision. 

The  one  comprehensive  result  of  his  really  mar- 
velous investigation  of  educational  problems,  and 
that  which  unified  his  thinking  into  a  consistent 
whole,  was  an  unconquerable  faith  that  education, 
in  its  broadest  sense,  is  the  great  agency  by  which 

2  Emerson's  "Essay  on  Montaigne,"  last  two  paragraphs. 


144    WILLIAM  TORREY  HARRIS  AND 

the  amelioration  of  the  race  and  its  salvation  from 
ignorance  and  superstition  and  poverty  and  im- 
morality and  crime  are  to  be  achieved.  He  be- 
lieved, with  Emerson,  that  "our  education  should 
be  brave  and  preventive ;  that  politics  is  an  after- 
work,  a  poor  patching ;  that  we  are  always  a  lit- 
tle late ;  that  the  evil  is  done,  the  law  is  passed, 
and  we  begin  the  uphill  agitation  for  the  repeal 
of  that  of  which  we  ought  to  have  prevented  the 
enacting ;  that  we  shall  one  day  learn  to  supersede 
politics  by  education ;  that  what  we  call  our  root- 
and-branch  reforms  of  slavery,  war,  gambling, 
and  intemperance,  is  only  medicating  the  symp- 
toms; that  we  must  begin  higher  up,  namely,  in 
Education."  3 

II.    ADDRESSES  AND  WRITINGS 

The  second  great  contribution  of  Dr.  Harris 
to  educational  history  consists  of  books  and  arti- 
cles which  he  wrote  and  of  addresses  which  he  de- 
livered. His  activities  in  these  directions  were 
extraordinary  with  respect  to  quantity,  to  qual- 
ity, and  to  the  range  of  subjects  treated.  A 
bibliography  of  his  writings  prepared  by  Henry 
Ridgely  Evans  and  published  in  the  Report  of 
the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education  for 
1907,  contains  479  different  titles.  The  reading 
of  this  bibliography  alone  would  consume  more 
time  than  has  been  set  apart  for  the  exercises  of 
the  evening. 

3  From   Emerson's   "Essay  on   Culture." 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  EDUCATION     145 

Among  the  books  which  he  wrote  are  Hegel's 
"Logic,"  which  is  a  critical  exposition  of  the 
genesis  of  the  categories  of  the  mind,  and  "Psy- 
chologic Foundations  of  Education,"  in  the 
thirty-nine  chapters  of  which  the  author  sets 
forth  the  psychological  explanation  of  the  more 
important  educational  factors  in  civilization  and 
its  schools.  In  the  70's  of  the  Nineteenth  Cen- 
tury, in  collaboration  with  Supt.  A.  J.  Rickoff  of 
Cleveland  and  Professor  Mark  Bailey  of  Yale 
University,  he  published  a  valuable  series  of 
readers  for  use  in  the  elementary  schools;  for  a 
number  of  years  before  his  death  he  was  editor  of 
Webster's  "International  Dictionary" ;  for  more 
than  twenty  years  from  1867  he  was  editor  of 
The  Journal  of  Speculative  Philosophy,  and  was 
the  chief  contributor  to  its  columns. 

As  superintendent  of  the  public  schools  of  St. 
Louis  he  prepared  thirteen  annual  reports  that 
established  his  reputation  as  an  educational 
thinker  of  the  highest  rank.  On  account  of  these 
reports  the  French  government  conferred  upon 
him  the  honorary  titles  of  "Officer  of  the  Acad- 
emy" and  "Officer  of  Public  Instruction."  Many 
reforms  which  have,  in  recent  years,  found  their 
way  into  the  public  schools  throughout  the  coun- 
try were  first  ably  advocated  in  these  reports. 
From  1889  to  1906  he  was  at  the  head  of  the 
United  States  Bureau  of  Education,  submitting 
its  annual  report,  which  commanded  the  respect 
and  admiration  of  the  educational  public  through- 


146    WILLIAM  TORREY  HARRIS  AND 

out  the  world.  For  many  years  he  was  the  editor 
of  the  "International  Education  Series,"  pub- 
lished by  the  Appletons,  writing  for  each  volume 
of  the  Series  a  preface  and  sometimes  an  intro- 
duction, the  preface  and  introduction  in  more  than 
one  instance  being  of  greater  worth  than  the  con- 
tents of  the  work  itself. 

In  hundreds  of  articles  which  he  wrote  were 
discussed  the  educational  questions  that  have  been 
raised  in  the  last  half-century,  a  period  which 
seemed  to  devote  itself  to  educational  inquiry  and 
criticism.  Here  are  some  titles,  taken  almost  at 
random:  "Text-books:  Their  Use  and  Abuse," 
"The  Defect  in  the  Graded  School  System," 
"Pestalozzinism,"  "Coeducation  of  the  Sexes," 
"Industrial  Education,"  "The  Value  of  Each 
Branch  of  Study  in  Giving  Man  the  Mastery  of 
His  Instrumentalities,"  "Libraries,"  "Oral  In- 
struction: Prescription  of  Its  Province  in  Educa- 
tion," "Art  Instruction,"  "Grammar  as  an  Intel- 
lectual Culture  Study,"  "A  Brief  for  Latin," 
"The  Education  of  Women,"  "The  High  School," 
"Promotion  and  Classification  of  Pupils,"  "A  Na- 
tional University,"  "School  Hygiene,"  "Moral 
Education,"  "Culture  and  Discipline  versus  In- 
formation and  Dexterity,"  "The  Kindergarten: 
Its  Philosophy,"  "On  the  Nature  of  Play,"  "Peda- 
gogics as  a  Province  of  Education,"  "Thoughts 
on  the  History  of  Education,"  "The  Place  of  the 
Study  of  Latin  and  Greek  in  Modern  Education," 
"Educational  Psychology,"  "Elective  Studies," 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  EDUCATION     147 

"The  Church,  the  State,  and  the  School,"  "Chairs 
of  Pedagogics,"  "The  Modern  Growth  of  Cities 
and  the  Education  Demanded  Thereby,"  "Com- 
pulsory Education  in  Relation  to  Crime  and  So- 
cial Morals,"  "Art  Education  the  True  Industrial 
Education,"  "University  and  School  Extension," 
"Vocation  versus  Culture,  or  the  Two  Aspects  of 
Education,"  "Grading  in  Country  Schools,"  "Sim- 
plified Spelling,"  "Curriculum  for  Secondary 
Schools,"  "Education  for  Negroes,"  "The  Old 
Psychology  versus  the  New,"  and  "The  Future  of 
the  Normal  School." 

For  many  years  Dr.  Harris  was  the  most  con- 
spicuous and  the  most  useful  member  of  the  Na- 
tional Education  Association.  The  annual  pro- 
ceedings of  that  organization  were  enriched  by 
the  papers  which  he  read,  as  well  as  by  the  discus- 
sions in  which  he  engaged  and  by  the  reports 
which  he  made.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Fifteen,  serving  as  chairman  of  the  Sub- 
Committee  on  the  Correlation  of  Studies.  The 
report  of  this  Sub-Committee,  which  was,  of 
course,  written  by  himself,  is  an  epoch-making 
contribution  to  educational  literature,  and  has, 
perhaps,  had  more  to  do  than  any  other  single 
publication  with  the  rationalizing  of  pedagogic 
thinking  concerning  the  course  of  study.  To 
some  of  the  minor  details  of  that  report  it  is  be- 
lieved by  some  reputable  school  men  that  valid  ob- 
jections can  be  offered;  but  the  fundamental  con- 
tentions have  not  been  successfully  questioned,  and 


148    WILLIAM  TORREY  HARRIS  AND 

there  is  every  reason  for  believing  that  this  report 
will  become  one  of  the  educational  classics  of 
America. 

Dr.  Harris,  furthermore,  rendered  conspicuous 
service  as  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Rural 
Schools,  serving  as  chairman,  and  writing  the  re- 
port of  the  Sub-Committee  on  Instruction  and 
Discipline.  Here,  again,  he  manifested  his  abil- 
ity as  an  educational  leader,  for  he  submitted  a 
clear  and  cogent  presentation  of  rural  educational 
reforms  which  relate  to  instruction  and  to  the 
course  of  study,  and  which  have  been  receiving 
the  serious  consideration  of  the  states  of  the  Amer- 
ican Union  since  the  publication  of  that  report  in 
1897. 

Of  the  addresses  which  he  delivered  before  edu- 
cational, philosophic,  literary,  penological,  and 
other  societies,  it  may  be  said  that  none  was  the 
result  of  immature  reflection ;  that  each  of  the  ad- 
dresses, though  brief  in  compass,  was  comprehen- 
sive in  outline  and  unified  in  structure.  It  is  re- 
markable that  the  number  of  these  addresses  was 
so  great ;  but  the  superior  quality  of  their  content 
is  even  more  remarkable. 

III.    EXECUTIVE  WORK 

A  third  contribution  made  by  Dr.  Harris  to 
educational  progress  was  his  splendid  service  in 
the  realm  of  educational  administration  and  su- 
pervision. While  he  was  blessed  with  great  in- 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  EDUCATION     149 

formation  and  insight  gained  by  professional 
study,  and  while  he  was  unusually  gifted  with 
ability  to  present,  by  voice  and  by  pen,  the  results 
of  that  study,  yet,  philosopher  though  he  was,  he, 
like  Miles  Standish,  could  both  write  and  fight. 
In  the  practical  realm  of  realizing  educational 
ideals  his  talents  were  as  conspicuous  as  in  the 
realms  of  the  student  and  of  the  author.  During 
the  thirteen  years  he  was  superintendent  of 
schools  in  St.  Louis,  those  schools  were  organized 
into  a  really  efficient,  unified  system,  and  came  to 
occupy  first  rank  among  the  city  schools  of  the 
nation.  It  was  largely  through  the  labors  which 
he  performed  and  directed  that  the  high  school, 
whose  very  existence  had  frequently  been  in  dan- 
ger, was  established  upon  a  permanent  founda- 
tion ;  that  the  kindergarten  was  incorporated  into 
the  system  of  public  schools ;  that  the  city  normal 
school  became  a  really  serviceable  agent  of  prog- 
ress; that  the  interval  of  promotion  was  short- 
ened, thus  breaking  up  the  compulsory  lock-step 
movement  of  pupils;  that  the  elementary  school 
and  its  teacher  attained  dignity  and  respect ;  that 
the  school  principal  became  a  responsible  and  use- 
ful factor  in  school  administration  and  supervi- 
sion; that  problems  relating  to  school  buildings 
came  to  be  considered  worthy  of  scientific  treat- 
ment, and  that  the  profession  of  school  architec- 
ture came  to  be  regarded  with  favor  by  the  public 
at  large;  that  physical  education  received  such 
approval  as  to  be  deemed  an  indispensable  element 


150    WILLIAM  TORREY  HARRIS  AND 

in  the  public  school  system;  that  the  school 
library  was  established  as  an  important  adjunct 
to  other  instructional  forces;  that  the  movement 
to  dignify  the  office  of  the  school  trustee  and  to 
select  him  because  of  his  honesty,  his  competency, 
and  his  interest  in  educational  affairs,  grew  in 
vigor  and  in  popular  favor;  and  that  militant 
public  opinion  was  aroused  in  behalf  of  the  several 
phases  of  school  improvement. 

In  an  article  which  he  contributed  to  the  Edu- 
cational Review  in  1892  he  accurately  and  ade- 
quately described  the  functions  of  the  ideal  school 
superintendent,  functions  which  he  himself  had 
discharged  with  rare  fidelity  and  success.  Here 
is  the  concluding  and  summarizing  paragraph  of 
that  article: 

"The  efficient  superintendent,  therefore,  sets  into 
working  order  three  educative  influences  to  support 
the  one  great  work  of  education  in  the  school  system: 
namely,  an  educative  influence  in  wise  measures  and 
correct  insight,  for  members  of  the  school  board; 
second,  an  educative  influence,  resulting  in  insight 
into  methods,  and  a  growth  in  personal  self-control, 
and  besides  these  a  culture  in  literature  and  art  and 
science,  for  the  teachers;  thirdly,  for  the  community, 
an  enlightened  public  opinion  which  knows  what  the 
schools  are  actually  doing,  and  can  intelligently  ex- 
plain merits  and  defects,  and  tell  what  changes  are 
desirable  for  onward  progress."  4 

When,  in  1889,  President  Harrison  appointed 
*  Educational  Review,  3:172. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  EDUCATION     151 

Dr.  Harris  United  States  Commissioner  of  Edu- 
cation, school  men  throughout  the  country  most 
emphatically  approved  the  choice,  and  prophesied 
that  great  things  would  be  accomplished  by  the 
new  Commissioner.  In  the  seventeen  years  of 
service  in  that  office,  he  more  than  fulfilled  the 
prophecies  made  when  he  entered  upon  its  labors. 
His  protracted,  thoughtful  study  of  professional 
problems,  his  sharing  with  his  fellowmen  by  means 
of  oral  and  written  discourse  the  fruits  of  that 
study,  and  his  practical  administration  of  the  af- 
fairs of  a  great  city  school  system,  had  equipped 
him  admirably  for  the  larger  contributions  he  was 
to  make  to  educational  history.  The  annual  re- 
ports published  during  his  commissionership  are 
positive  and  enduring  evidence  that  the  work  of 
the  Bureau  properly  administered  is  valuable  to 
the  nation,  contributing  in  high  degree  to  that 
unification  which  is  essential  to  our  educational 
progress.  These  reports  furnish  abundant  testi- 
mony that  Dr.  Harris's  labors  in  connection  with 
the  Bureau  were  eminently  successful,  for,  in 
Washington,  as  in  St.  Louis,  he  manifested  the 
rare  combination  of  philosophical  insight  and 
practical  executive  power.  It  would  be  difficult 
to  overestimate  the  worth  of  these  reports,  for, 
in  a  very  significant  sense,  they  have  become  a 
kind  of  educational  clearing  house,  not  only  for 
the  United  States,  but  also  for  the  civilized  world. 
It  was  an  easy  matter  for  Dr.  Harris  to  dis- 
charge the  duties  of  a  national  office,  for  neither 


152    WILLIAM  TORREY  HARRIS  AND 

provincialism  nor  intolerance  could  find  a  resting 
place  in  his  soul.  He  was  greatly  concerned  with 
the  promotion  of  educational  progress  in  the 
North,  in  the  East,  in  the  West,  and  especially  in 
the  South,  with  whose  people  he  sympathized  in 
their  efforts  to  solve  their  peculiarly  difficult 
problems  in  education.  In  one  of  his  addresses, 
delivered  in  a  national  congress  of  education,  he 
referred  to  the  struggles  of  the  South,  remarking 
that  the  percentage  of  its  population  attending 
school  is  very  large,  as  large  as  that  of  Saxony, 
even,  and  then  he  adds  that  "this  is  a  wonderful 
showing  for  the  wisdom  and  self-sacrifice  of  the 
Southern  people,  who  are,  indeed,  building  a  New 
South,  with  the  school  as  its  cornerstone." 

IV.    CONCLUSION 

Many  and  varied  were  Dr.  Harris's  contribu- 
tions in  the  realms  of  professional  study,  produc- 
tive authorship,  and  school  administration.  In 
each  realm  he  was  remarkably  efficient  in  service, 
and,  what  is  rarer  still,  was  entirely  free  from 
officiousness  or  offensiveness  in  performance. 
The  latter  especially  charming  attribute  of  his 
personality  was,  no  doubt,  born  of  the  fact  that, 
as  Plato  would  say,  "He  had  tasted  how  sweet  and 
blessed  a  possession  philosophy  is,"  and  had,  ac- 
cordingly, become  a  thoroughly  just  man,  a  just 
man  being  one — again  to  quote  from  Plato — who 
"does  not  permit  the  several  elements  within  him 
to  meddle  with  one  another,  or  any  of  them  to  do 


DEVELOPMENT  OP  EDUCATION     153 

the  work  of  others;  but  he  sets  in  order  his  own 
inner  life,  and  is  his  own  master,  and  at  peace 
with  himself;  and,  when  he  has  bound  together 
the  three  principles  within  .  .  .  and  is  no 
longer  many,  but  has  become  one  entirely  tem- 
perate and  perfectly  adjusted  nature,  then  he  will 
begin  to  act,  if  he  is  to  act,  whether  in  a  matter 
of  property  or  in  the  treatment  of  the  body  or 
some  affair  of  politics  or  private  business;  in  all 
of  which  cases  he  will  think  and  call  just  and  good 
action  that  which  preserves  and  cooperates  with 
this  condition,  and  the  knowledge  which  presides 
over  this,  wisdom;  and  unjust  action  that  which 
at  any  time  destroys  this,  and  the  opinion  which 
presides  over  unjust  action,  ignorance."  5 

When  the  Carnegie  Foundation  conferred  upon 
Dr.  Harris,  in  1906,  the  highest  retiring  allow- 
ance permitted  by  its  rules,  an  annual  income  of 
three  thousand  dollars,  it  was  an  honor  most 
worthily  bestowed,  because  his  was  a  truly  great 
spirit,  accomplishing  great  things  in  a  great  way, 
and  because  the  contributions  of  his  life-work  con- 
stitute an  imperishable  inheritance  of  American 
education. 

B  Plato's  "Republic,"  443. 


VIII 

THE  CLUB  WOMAN  AND  THE  DEVELOP- 
MENT OF  EDUCATIONAL  PUBLIC 
OPINION  * 

Being  the  one  institution  charged  directly  with 
the  development  of  the  rising  generation,  the 
school  is  a  most  powerful  agency  in  the  protec- 
tion and  the  promotion  of  individual  and  institu- 
tional welfare.  It  is,  therefore,  of  priceless  value, 
and  every  citizen  is  under  bond  to  maintain,  by 
word  and  by  deed,  in  private  and  in  public,  its 
integrity  and  usefulness.  While  women  are  not 
armed  with  the  ballot  in  Texas,  yet  they  con- 
tribute in  no  small  degree  to  the  creation  and  de- 
velopment of  public  opinion.  In  matters  pertain- 
ing to  the  education  of  youth,  they  are  especially 
influential.  They  can  have  no  greater  duty,  and 
can  obtain  no  greater  privilege  than  to  exercise 
continuously  and  earnestly  a  strong  and  whole- 
some influence  in  behalf  of  the  very  best  educa- 
tional advantages  it  is  possible  to  obtain.  It  is 
the  purpose  of  this  paper  to  discuss  some  phases 
of  school  work  in  which  this  influence  can  be  well 
directed. 

1.  The  physical   conditions  under  which  chil- 

i  Read  in  Houston,  Texas,  November  17,  1904,  before  the 
Texas  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs. 
154 


EDUCATIONAL  PUBLIC  OPINION     155 

dren  are  to  spend  their  school  life  should  be  sani- 
tary, comfortable,  and  attractive. 

Clean,  healthful,  beautiful  buildings  and 
grounds  have  desirable  effects  not  only  upon  the 
body  of  the  child,  but  also  upon  the  mind  and 
character.  The  Greeks  of  old  had  greater  in- 
sight with  respect  to  this  matter  than  do  many 
people  living  in  modern  times.  By  careful  at- 
tention to  the  needs  of  the  growing  body  such  a 
race  of  men  and  women  were  developed  in  ancient 
Greece  as  have  not  been  surpassed  through  all  the 
centuries  that  have  followed.  They  believed,  fur- 
thermore, in  surrounding  the  young  with  works 
of  art  stimulating  to  the  healthful  imagination. 
In  Plato's  "Republic,"  which  sets  forth  an  ideal 
scheme  of  education,  we  read: 

"We  would  not  have  our  guardians  grow  up  amid 
images  of  moral  deformity,  as  in  some  noxious  pas- 
ture, and  there  browse  and  feed  upon  many  a  bane- 
ful herb  and  flower,  day  by  day,  little  by  little,  until 
they  silently  gather  a  mass  of  festering  corruption  in 
their  own  souls.  Let  our  artists  rather  be  those  who 
are  gifted  to  discern  the  true  nature  of  beauty  and 
grace.  Then  will  our  youth  dwell  in  a  land  of  health 
amid  fair  sights  and  sounds;  and  beauty,  the  effluence 
of  fair  works,  will  meet  the  sense  like  a  breeze  and 
insensibly  draw  the  soul,  even  in  childhood,  into  har- 
mony with  the  beauty  of  reason." 

If  our  women,  appreciating  the  philosophy  of 
Plato's  words,  should  mold  public  opinion  in  every 


156  THE  CLUB  WOMAN  AND 

community  in  this  state  in  accordance  therewith, 
in  no  city,  town,  or  hamlet  in  all  this  common- 
wealth would  there  be  found  a  schoolhouse  that  is 
a  caricature  upon  architecture  and  that  is  less  in- 
viting than  the  building  in  which  criminals  are 
confined. 

2.  If  the  priceless  blessings  of  good  schools  are 
to  be  enjoyed  by  our  children,  only  competent 
teachers  should  be  employed  to  give  them  instruc- 
tion. 

The  teacher  who  does  not  represent  in  his  own 
person  the  ideals  of  true  manhood  is  incapable 
of  leading  younger  people  to  appreciate  those 
ideals.  While  it  is  necessary  that  the  teacher  be 
a  scholar,  he  must  first  be  possessed  of  the  man- 
ners, as  well  as  the  higher  attributes,  of  the  well- 
bred  gentleman.  But  scholarship  also  is  impera- 
tive. Certainly  no  one  can  teach  what  he  him- 
self does  not  know^  It  is  a  safe  rule  to  adopt  that 
the  teacher  be  at  least  four  years  in  advance  of 
the  pupils  he  is  to  teach.  No  teacher,  for  exam- 
ple, should  be  employed  in  a  high  school  who  has 
not  the  training  equivalont  to  that  to  be  derived 
from  the  satisfactory  completion  of  courses  of 
study  leading  to  graduation  from  college.  Fur- 
thermore, a  truly  qualified  teacher  is  one  who  is 
familiar  with,  and  is  vitally  interested  in,  the 
problems  of  his  own  profession,  and  consequently 
with  the  literature  relating  to  that  profession. 
He  is  daily  studying  these  problems,  and  is  be- 
coming more  and  more  familiar  with  them,  not 


EDUCATIONAL  PUBLIC  OPINION     157 

only  at  first  hands,  but  also  through  the  thought 
of  the  leaders  in  education.  He  spends  his  money 
in  order  that  he  may  obtain  professional  growth. 
His  long  vacations  are  not  consumed  in  absolute 
idleness  or  in  flitting  from  watering  place  to 
mountain  resort.  At  least  a  portion  of  every 
summer  he  spends  in  study  in  some  institution 
which  offers  opportunity  for  professional  advance- 
ment. His  salary  may  be  small;  but  he  wisely 
invests  a  portion  of  it  in  order  that  he  may  become 
a  larger  man,  feeling  assured  that  large  salaries 
are  never  found  hunting  for  small  men. 

The  truly  professional  teacher,  again,  in  the 
securing  and  holding  of  official  positions,  is  not 
depending  upon  political  pull,  upon  membership 
in  any  religious  denomination,  upon  ties  of  con- 
sanguinity or  affinity,  or  upon  any  form  of  graft, 
however  veiled  or  specious.  He  modestly  submits 
upon  proper  occasions  his  personal  and  profes- 
sional merits,  and  he  is  willing  to  be  judged  by 
them,  and  them  alone.  This  is  the  very  essence 
of  honesty  and  fair  dealing.  If  we  wish  our  chil- 
dren to  have  these  qualities  indelibly  stamped 
upon  their  lives,  we  should  strenuously  insist  that 
the  men  and  women  who  teach  them  should  be 
reasonably  reputable  guides  with  respect  to  cul- 
ture and  character. 

This,  then,  is  the  second  lesson  of  the  evening: 
The  women  of  this  Federation  should  have  an 
abiding  interest  in  developing  in  their  several 
communities  a  strong  and  vigorous  sentiment  in 


158  THE  CLUB  WOMAN  AND 

behalf  of  the  selection  and  retention  of  teachers 
upon  only  one  basis,  the  basis  of  merit. 

3.  The  third  lesson  is  like  unto  the  second. 
The  school  superintendent  should  have  all  the 
qualifications  of  the  teacher,  and  some  one  has 
said  that  he  should  have  these  qualifications  raised 
to  the  second  power. 

The  superintendent  of  schools  is,  in  a  large  de- 
gree, the  teacher  of  teachers.  If  he  be  a  weak 
man,  a  time-server,  a  political  trimmer,  no  one 
should  be  surprised  if  the  principals  and  teachers 
under  his  supervision  manifest  similar  weaknesses. 
The  leader  in  any  organization  invariably  stamps 
his  own  qualities  of  mind  and  heart  upon  its  every 
department.  In  every  community,  perhaps,  the 
greatest  public  interest  is  its  system  of  schools. 
The  head  of  that  system  should  be  a  man  who 
devotes  himself  exclusively  to  the  duties  of  his 
office.  Those  duties  being  of  an  educational  char- 
acter, he  should  be  distinguished  because  of  his 
discharge  of  educational  functions.  These  func- 
tions are  so  numerous  and  so  complex  that  they 
will  require  all  the  time  and  all  the  talent  of  the 
most  gifted  of  men.  To  discharge  them  faith- 
fully and  acceptably  requires  a  man  who  is  not  an 
expert  as  a  mere  job-holder,  a  skilled  manipulator 
of  political  methods,  but  one  by  whose  worthy 
leadership  in  educational  affairs  the  opportunities 
for  the  development  of  sturdy  character  will,  year 
by  year,  be  multiplied  in  every  school  under  his) 
supervision.  In  him  every  teacher  will  find  a 


EDUCATIONAL  PUBLIC  OPINION     159 

trusted  counselor  and  friend,  every  parent  a  ju- 
dicious adviser,  and  every  child  a  courageous  de- 
fender of  his  rights.  There  is  connected  with  the 
public  service  no  officer  in  whom  the  women  of  this 
organization  should  have  a  more  intelligent  con- 
cern. 

4.  The  members  of  the  board  of  trustees  in 
every  school  district  should  be  composed  of  intelli- 
gent, patriotic,  and  prudent  men. 

The  law  very  wisely  forbids  the  payment  of  a 
salary  to  a  school  trustee.  It  is  the  theory  in 
America  that  everywhere  will  be  found  capable 
and  honorable  men  who  are  sufficiently  interested 
in  the  schools  to  give  their  services  as  trustees 
without  financial  compensation.  It  is  the  theory, 
also,  that  these  trustees  shall  be  trustees  in  fact, 
and  not  in  name  only.  Should  the  trustee  of  an 
estate  of  a  deceased  person  prove  recreant  to  his 
trust,  adequate  penalties  are  fixed  by  law.  It  is 
especially  disreputable  for  a  man  to  be  dishonest, 
or  even  careless,  in  the  management  of  property 
interests  belonging  to  others.  If  anything,  it  is 
still  more  disreputable  for  the  trustee  of  a  school, 
because  of  the  seductive  blandishments  of  grafters 
of  greater  or  less  venality,  or  because  of  the  influ- 
ence of  powerful  social,  sectarian,  or  political 
pulls,  to  barter  away  the  spiritual  rights  of  the 
children  of  his  community.  One  of  the  great 
rights  of  every  child  is  that  he  is  entitled  to  the 
best  possible  instruction  obtainable.  The  selec- 
tion of  the  teacher  who  is  to  give  that  instruction 


160  THE  CLUB  WOMAN  AND 

is  in  the  hands  of  the  trustee,  who  has  taken  oath 
that  he  will  properly  administer  the  trust  imposed 
in  him.  A  trustee  mindful  of  his  obligation  will 
not  favor  the  system  of  the  spoilsman,  but  will 
adopt  the  policy  recommended  a  year  ago  in  the 
report  to  his  school  trustees  by  Superintendent 
S.  M.  N.  Marrs  of  Terrell,  Texas.  From  Super- 
intendent Marrs'  report  these  extracts  are  taken: 

"The  statement  is  frequently  made,  'Everything  else 
being  equal,  I  believe  in  employing  our  own  grad- 
uates to  teach  in  our  schools/  I  know  that  every 
one  of  you,  as  a  member  of  the  school  board,  endorses 
this  statement  fully.  But  when  you  have  teachers  of 
many  years'  experience,  holding  college  or  normal 
school  diplomas,  or  life  certificates,  who  have  been 
successful  in  their  work,  make  application  for  posi- 
tions in  our  schools,  are  our  graduates  with  a  few 
months'  experience,  and  holding  second-grade  county 
certificates,  or  possibly  first-grade  certificates,  their 
equals?  I  would  not  detract  one  iota  from  the  suc- 
cessful work  of  those  of  our  teachers  who,  by  their 
genial  personality  and  indomitable  energy,  have  given 
such  entire  satisfaction;  but  I  would  remind  them 
that  progress  should  be  their  watchword,  and  that 
they  should  take  advantage  of  every  opportunity  to 
place  themselves  upon  an  equality  with  other  teachers 
who  have  spent  some  of  the  best  years  of  their  lives 
in  preparation  for  the  noble  duties  of  the  profession. 
And  when  this  is  done,  when  our  graduates  go  to  the 
normal  schools  and  the  colleges,  and  return  to  us  upon 
an  equal 'footing  with  other  teachers,  holding  their 
diplomas,  earned  by  hard  study  and  close  application, 


EDUCATIONAL  PUBLIC  OPINION     161 

I  am  very  sure  they  will  receive  favorable  consider- 
ation and  be  given  an  opportunity  to  prove  whether 
or  not  they  possess  the  other  elements  of  the  success- 
ful teacher. 

"So  long  as  you  fail  to  demand  of  your  home 
teachers  the  same  preparation  you  require  of  those 
from  a  distance,  you  contribute  to  their  negligence  in 
this  respect,  and  instead  of  your  leniency's  being  a 
kindness,  it  becomes  a  real  injury." 

There  is  but  one  single  question  for  the  trustee 
to  ask  if  he  wishes  to  fulfill  the  obligations  of  his 
position,  and  that  question  is,  in  every  instance, 
What  action  on  my  part  is  demanded  by  the  best 
interests  of  the  children  for  whom  the  schools 
have  been  established  and  for  whom  they  should  be 
conducted?  To  answer  this  question  correctly  re- 
quires a  greater  degree  of  intelligence  than  some 
people  imagine,  and  a  higher  degree  of  honesty 
than  some  men  have  inherited  or  attained.  The 
good  women,  as  well  as  the  good  men,  in  every 
community  certainly  love  their  children  and 
should,  therefore,  find  it  easy  to  agree  to  elect 
to  membership  upon  the  board  of  school  trustees 
only  such  men  as  clearly  demonstrate  intellectual 
and  moral  fitness  therefor. 

It  stands  to  reason,  from  what  has  just  now 
been  said,  that  the  board  of  trustees  should  be  di- 
vorced from  partisan  politics.  The  school  is  an 
institution  in  whose  blessings  the  children  of  peo- 
ple of  all  shades  of  political  belief  have  a  right  to 
share.  It  is  the  only  institution  upon  which  all 


162  THE  CLUB  WOMAN  AND 

parties  can  certainly  unite.  Republicans,  Demo- 
crats, Populists,  Mugwumps,  Socialists,  all 
are  interested  in  the  education  of  their  chil- 
dren. It  would  certainly  be  unrighteous  and  un- 
American  to  conduct  such  an  institution  along 
narrow  political  lines.  Time  forbids  an  extended 
discussion  of  this  point;  but  I  cannot  forbear 
quoting  these  sentences,  taken  from  an  address 
made  last  July  by  Andrew  S.  Draper,  Commis- 
sioner of  Education  of  the  State  of  New  York : 

"It  seems  to  be  accepted  all  around  that  'politics/ 
or  partisan  influences  of  any  kind,  operating  with  the 
dark  lantern,  shall  be  met  with  resentment,  and  that 
with  emphasis.  That  is  something ;  but  it  is  far  from 
all.  We  not  only  do  not  want  men  and  women  in  the 
educational  organization  simply  because  they  have  won 
the  gratitude  and  support  of  some  other  kind  of  or- 
ganization which  is  doubtless  right  enough  in  its  way; 
but  we  want  men  and  women  who  have  taste  and  train- 
ing which  may  be  strikingly  useful  in  the  upbuilding 
of  an  educational  organization." 

In  Texas,  school  affairs  have  been  managed 
with  singular  freedom  from  corruption  and  de- 
bauchery. The  really  vicious  ultra-partisan 
management  of  educational  interests  has  been 
rare  in  this  state ;  but  in  these  days,  when,  in 
many  parts  of  our  country,  the  spoilsman  and  the 
grafter  are  searching  for  every  possible  oppor- 
tunity to  ply  their  nefarious  practices,  it  is  in- 
cumbent upon  us  to  fix,  once  for  all,  if  possible, 


EDUCATIONAL  PUBLIC  OPINION     163 

uncompromising  faith  in  the  doctrine  that  the 
schools  shall  be  run  for  the  benefit  of  our  children, 
and  for  their  benefit  alone.  It  should  be  a  mat- 
ter of  great  pride  to  every  citizen  of  Texas  that 
the  Regents  of  the  University,  ever  since  it  was 
founded  twenty-one  years  ago,  have  kept  in  mind 
the  fact  that  it  is  their  sole  function  as  Regents 
to  administer  a  great  educational  trust,  and  that 
they  have,  therefore,  not  been  subservient  to  any 
other  than  educational  influences.  They  may,  at 
times,  have  been  mistaken  in  their  judgments ;  but 
these  have  been  mistakes  incident  to  the  fallibility 
of  human  nature,  and  have  been  in  no  sense  crimes 
committed  with  malice  aforethought. 

In  the  work  of  quickening  and  strengthening 
public  opinion  in  behalf  of  the  proper  administra- 
tion of  our  public  schools,  I  am  sure  the  members 
of  the  Texas  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  can 
render  valiant  and  valued  service.  Any  form  of 
public  service  is  sure  to  fail  of  greatest  success 
whenever  public  interest  is  wanting.  The  club 
women  undoubtedly  have  ways  and  means  by 
which  interest  in  educational  questions  can  be  kept 
vigorously  alive.  The  mothers'  club  has,  in  many 
places,  been  an  effective  agency  in  this  direction. 
Far  be  it  from  me  to  speak  with  scant  praise  of 
its  splendid  service;  but  I  beg  to  suggest  that  it 
should  be  supplemented  in  every  school  district 
by  the  organization  of  an  educational  association, 
to  include  in  its  membership  men,  as  well  as 
women,  an  association  to  cooperate  with  teachers, 


164  THE  CLUB  WOMAN  AND 

principals,  superintendents,  and  school  trustees  in 
strengthening  public  opinion  in  behalf  of  better 
schools  and  better  school  facilities ;  to  study, 
really  study,  the  conditions  necessary  to  genuine 
progress ;  and  to  assist  generously  and  sanely  in 
devising  plans,  and,  when  proper,  in  executing 
plans,  to  insure  those  conditions.  It  seems  to  me 
that  it  is  intended  by  Providence  that  the  educa- 
tion of  children  should  be  of  equal  concern  to 
fathers  and  mothers.  Surely  we  cannot  expect 
that  work  to  be  in  the  highest  degree  successful 
if  the  masculine  element  of  our  population  be 
practically  excluded  therefrom.  Other  means,  for 
example  the  organization  of  fathers'  clubs,  to 
meet  very  seldom,  will  be  suggested  to  your  minds. 
But  whatever  plans  may  be  adopted,  surely  here 
is  a  rich  and  a  well-nigh  unoccupied  field  of  en- 
deavor in  which  results  of  inestimable  value  may 
be  achieved  by  this  Federation.  To  the  most 
fruitful  tillage  of  this  field  you  are  invited  by 
every  competent  and  faithful  teacher  and  school 
officer  in  this  state,  as  well  as  by  every  child 
whose  powers  of  mind  and  heart  are  calling  for 
favorable  conditions  of  development. 

Finally,  while  club  women  are  deserving  of  high- 
est commendation  for  their  study  of  many  of  the 
difficult  problems  of  our  modern  times,  problems 
of  domestic  economy,  of  municipal  politics,  of 
state  politics,  of  national  politics,  of  world  poli- 
tics, problems  of  dress,  of  social  functions,  of  art, 
literature,  history,  philosophy,  love,  law,  trade, 


EDUCATIONAL  PUBLIC  OPINION     165 

religion,  etc.,  yet  it  is  respectfully,  but  earnestly, 
urged  that  they  should  not  fail  to  give  liberally 
of  their  time  and  their  talents  to  the  consideration 
of  another  question,  which  is  fundamental  to 
questions  of  home,  society,  church  and  state. 
That  question  is,  What  shall  be  done  to  and  for 
and  with  the  child,  by  whose  proper  education 
the  highest  hopes  of  humanity  are  to  be  realized, 
and  in  whose  life  and  advancement  the  brain  and 
heart  of  womankind  can  be  most  effectively  em- 
ployed? Should  the  club  women  in  this  state  aid 
in  the  development  of  the  doctrines  that  the  phys- 
ical conditions  about  our  schoolrooms  should  be 
wholesome  and  beautiful;  that  the  teachers  of 
Texas  children  should  be  men  and  women  of  sound 
scholarship,  high  character,  and  real  professional 
ability;  that  school  superintendents  should  be 
educational  leaders  worthy  of  the  cause  they  rep- 
resent, and  that  the  trustees  of  our  public  schools 
should  be  men  of  unquestioned  probity,  generous 
insight,  and  commendable  patriotism-^I  say,  if 
the  club  women  of  this  Federation  should  add 
their  great  influence  to  the  promotion  of  these 
four  fundamental  doctrines,  unborn  generations 
of  Texas  children  will  have  reason  to  bless  your 
memory,  the  angels  will  hear  the  story  of  your 
good  deeds,  and  the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth  will 
know  you  every  one  by  name. 


IX 


THE  EDUCATION  OF  THE  MODERN 
WOMAN  * 

In  different  ages  of  the  world  there  have  pre- 
vailed many  varying  and  ofttimes  contradictory 
opinions  concerning  the  education  of  woman. 
Throughout  the  centuries  she  has  been  an  inter- 
esting and  also  a  more  or  less  perplexing  prob- 
lem; but,  as  a  latter-day  cynic  has  confessed,  "If 
woman  makes  all  the  trouble  in  life,  it  is  woman 
who  makes  life  worth  all  the  trouble."  Inas- 
much as  her  education  has  always  been  influenced 
by  the  sphere  of  her  functions,  we  need  not  be 
surprised  that,  in  her  progress  from  the  slavery 
by  which  she  was  fettered  in  the  days  of  our  sav- 
age forefathers  to  the  time  when  she  is  coming 
to  be  recognized  as  an  individual  and  as  a  co- 
equal with  man, — I  say  we  need  not  be  surprised 
that  her  education  throughout  these  long  cen- 
turies has  responded  to  many  modifying  influ- 
ences. 

In  ancient  Sparta,  which  was,  at  best,  but  an 
armed  camp,  great  attention  was  necessarily  paid 
to  physical  development.  Her  free  citizens  were 

iA   commencement   address   delivered   May  26,   1908,   at 
Baylor  Female   College,  Belton,  Texas. 
166 


THE  MODERN  WOMAN  167 

to  be  so  trained  in  bodily  powers  and  in  patri- 
otic virtues  as  to  render  them  strong  and  willing 
defenders  of  the  state.  Literature,  art,  and 
philosophy  were  despised.  These  two  great  edu- 
cational aims,  patriotism  and  physical  power,  were 
to  be  wrought  out  in  the  development  of  the 
women,  as  well  as  of  the  men.  From  infancy  to 
womanhood  the  one  dominant  thought  of  their 
lives  was  that  the  mothers  in  Sparta  were  to  give 
the  state  vigorous  and  hardy  and  loyal  warriors. 
The  Spartan  woman  had,  comparatively  speaking, 
little  domestic  life,  her  husband  being  the  absolute 
creature  of  a  state  which  was  a  perfect  type  of 
a  highly  communistic  institution.  The  Spartan 
man,  who,  by  law,  was  compelled  to  marry  at  the 
age  of  thirty  years,  spent  his  life  in  the  service 
of  his  country,  being  prohibited  from  residing 
at  the  home  of  his  wife,  whom  he  was  able  to  visit 
only  by  stealth. 

In  Athens,  respectable  women  led  only  domestic 
lives.  We  read  in  the  famous  funeral  oration 
delivered  by  Pericles  in  honor  of  his  countrymen 
that  had  perished  during  one  year  of  the  Pelopen- 
nesian  War,  these  consoling  words: 

"If  I  am  to  speak  of  womanly  virtues  to  those  of 
you  who  will  henceforth  be  widows,  let  me  sum  them 
up  in  one  short  admonition:  To  a  woman  not  to  show 
more  weakness  than  is  natural  to  her  sex,  is  a  great 
glory,  and  not  to  be  talked  about  for  good  or  for 
evil  among  men." 


168  THE  EDUCATION  OF 

In  Xenophon's  "Economics"  is  given  in  detail 
the  Athenian  view  concerning  woman's  functions 
and  her  education  to  fit  her  therefor.  Living  in 
accordance  with  that  view  she  confined  her  talents 
to  the  discharge  of  domestic  duties,  the  rearing 
of  children,  the  oversight  of  servants,  and  the 
economic  disbursement  of  the  funds  provided  for 
the  support  of  the  family.  It  was  only  the 
woman  without  social  standing  that  turned  her 
attention  to  matters  of  politics  or  to  those  of  any 
other  character  not  closely  related  to  the  home. 
In  the  Golden  Age  of  Greece,  the  immortal  Fifth 
Century,  all  the  respectable  citizens  of  Athens 
would  have  held  up  their  hands  in  holy  horror, 
had  there  appeared  in  their  midst  a  woman  pos- 
sessed of  the  independence  and  intellectual  quali- 
fications of  many  an  American  woman  of  the  pres- 
ent day.  In  that  classic  city  social  functions 
were  attended  by  men  only.  Woman  had  the 
honor  and  the  pleasure  of  preparing  banquets  for 
her  lord ;  but  she  herself  was  conspicuously  absent 
from  the  banqueting  board.  As  she  was  set 
apart  for  strictly  domestic  functions,  only  do- 
mestic elements  entered  into  the  system  by  which 
she  was  educated. 

The  futility  of  this  educational  regimen  for 
women  was  understood  by  Plato,  the  greatest  of 
the  Greek  philosophers.  In  that  imperishable 
work,  "The  Republic,"  he  described  an  ideal  na- 
tion in  which  philosophers  should  be  rulers,  and 
in  which  wisdom,  courage,  temperance,  and  justice 


THE  MODERN  WOMAN  169 

should  abound.  In  his  Utopian  state,  education 
is  to  be  the  fundamental  activity  which  is  to  in- 
sure the  permanence  and  righteousness  of  govern- 
ment. His  ideal  education,  which  is  to  consist  of 
physical,  intellectual,  and  moral  elements,  is  to 
be  shared  by  men  and  women  alike,  his  reason 
therefor  being  expressed  as  follows: 

"The  same  education  which  makes  a  man  a  good 
guardian  will  make  a  woman  a  good  guardian,  for 
their  original  nature  is  the  same." 

In  Rome  somewhat  greater  freedom  was  en- 
joyed by  woman  than  in  Athens,  and  she  exer- 
cised a  greater  influence  upon  man.  The  Roman 
matron  has  survived  throughout  the  ages  as  a 
type  of  high-minded  womanhood ;  but  the  histor- 
ical record  discloses  the  fact  that,  while  higher 
education  was  organized  and  greatly  developed 
for  the  male  portion  of  the  population  of  Rome, 
no  provision  in  this  direction  existed  for  that 
other  half  of  the  population  which  belonged  to 
the  opposite  sex.  It  is  true  that  Musonius,  who 
lived  during  the  period  of  the  Hellenized  Roman 
education,  favored  the  extension  of  the  oppor- 
tunities of  higher  learning  to  women ;  but  he  lived 
far  in  advance  of  his  age,  and  his  views  were  by 
no  means  popular.  The  prevailing  opinion  was 
that  woman  should  be  a  home-keeper;  that, 
if  she  should  visit  philosophers,  she  would  become 
bold  and  presuming ;  that  contact  with  other  than 


170  THE  EDUCATION  OF 

domestic  matters  would  cause  her  to  abandon 
household  occupations ;  that  she  would  live  sur- 
rounded by  men  and  engaged  in  philosophical  and 
political  discussions;  that,  while  she  might  learn 
to  argue  subtly  and  be  an  expert  in  analyzing 
syllogisms,  she  ought  to  be  at  home  engaged  in 
spinning  or  in  some  other  necessary  employment 
that  would  render  her  husband's  home  life  satis- 
factory and  agreeable. 

During  the  Middle  Ages,  when,  on  account  of 
various  influences,  the  secular  learning  of  the  old 
Greeks  and  Romans  had  well-nigh  passed  away, 
woman,  in  common  with  man,  shared  the  darkness 
of  the  ignorance  that  prevailed.  It  was  during 
these  times  that  the  ascetic,  other-worldly  view 
dominated  both  life  and  education.  Aside  from 
strictly  domestic  duties,  only  the  nunnery  opened 
its  portals  to  women.  The  views  which  generally 
obtained  are  well  represented  in  the  advice  given 
by  St.  Jerome  to  one  of  his  widowed  friends  in- 
quiring of  him  as  to  the  proper  education  of  her 
daughter.  This  good  man  suggested  a  stern 
regimen  of  physical  asceticism;  urging  that  the 
body  be  considered  an  enemy,  to  be  subdued  by 
fasting  and  by  mortification  of  the  flesh.  The 
same  monastic  element  is  prominent  as  to  the  intel- 
lectual and  moral  development  which  he  approves. 
He  advises  that  only  the  Bible  be  read  and 
studied ;  that  the  arts  be  tabooed ;  that  the  daugh- 
ter never  listen  to  musical  instruments  ;  that  she  be 
kept  in  ignorance  of  the  uses  served  by  the  flute 


THE  MODERN  WOMAN  171 

and  the  harp;  that  she  should  not  be  found  in 
the  streets  of  the  world,  or  in  the  gatherings  and 
in  the  company  of  her  kindred;  that  she  is  to  live 
in  retirement.  She  is  not  to  feel  more  affection 
for  one  of  her  companions  than  for  others.  She 
is  not  to  be  allowed  to  speak  with  such  an  one  in 
an  undertone.  In  his  opinion  the  most  desirable 
place  in  which  she  could  be  brought  up  is  in  a 
cloister.  Said  this  great  church  father: 

"If  you  will  send  us  Paula,  I  will  charge  myself 
with  being  her  master  and  nurse;  I  will  give  her  my 
tenderest  care.  ...  I  shall  be  more  renowned 
than  Aristotle,  since  I  shall  instruct,  not  a  mortal 
and  perishable  king,  but  an  immortal  spouse  of  the 
heavenly  king." 

It  is  true  that  when  the  Feudal  System  arose, 
a  somewhat  different  conception  of  the  functions 
of  woman  obtained,  and  that  the  social  element 
entered  more  largely  into  her  life  and  into  her 
education.  She  became  more  or  less  proficient  in 
the  forms  of  etiquette,  and  in  poetry  and  music, 
as  well  as  in  religious  and  domestic  duties ;  but 
it  must  be  remembered  that  this  education  was 
confined  to  a  small  percentage  of  the  population, 
that  is  to  say,  to  the  families  of  the  feudal  barons. 

The  feudalistic  view  is  perhaps  well  expressed 
by  the  celebrated  essayist,  Montaigne,  who  lived 
in  the  Sixteenth  Century,  and  whose  chivalric  gal- 
lantry led  him  to  disbelieve  in  the  development  of » 


173  THE  EDUCATION  OF 

woman  along  rigorous  lines  of  study.  If  she 
must  study,  however,  he  advised  that  she  should 
study  poetry,  saying: 

"It  is  a  wanton,  crafty  art,  disguised ;  all  for  pleas- 
ure, all  for  show,  just  as  women  are." 

Even  Rousseau,  the  most  vigorous  of  all  the 
educational  reformers  of  the  world,  and  the  au- 
thor of  the  most  celebrated  educational  classics 
ever  written,  the  "Emile,"  preaches  the  doctrine 
that  the  whole  education  of  women  should  be 
relative  to  men;  that  to  please  them,  to  be  useful 
to  them,  to  make  themselves  honored  and  loved  by 
them,  to  educate  the  young,  to  care  for  the  older, 
to  advance  them,  to  console  them,  to  make  life 
agreeable  and  sweet  to  them, — these  are  the  du- 
ties of  women  in  every  age.  He  believed  that  a 
woman  of  culture  is  to  be  avoided  like  a  pestilence, 
"for,"  says  he,  "she  is  the  plague  of  her  husband, 
her  children,  servants, — everybody." 

Richard  Mulcaster,  who  was  the  celebrated 
master  of  the  Merchant  Taylors'  School  in  the 
Sixteenth  Century,  and  who  wrote  a  book  con- 
cerning the  theory  and  practice  of  education,  rec- 
ommended that  a  woman  should  be  perfected  in 
"reading  well,  writing  faire,  singing  sweete,  and 
playing  fine."  These  studies  he  considered  as 
needful.  More  advanced  studies  he  believed 
might  be  undertaken  by  women  that  are  to  be- 
come wives  of  leaders  among  men,  but  by  him, 


THE  MODERN  WOMAN  173 

as  by  all  his  contemporaries,  the  idea  that  the 
higher  education  of  woman  should  be  primarily 
for  her  own  sake,  was  not  entertained. 

Probably  the  first  great  writer  of  education  to 
set  forth  in  unmistakable  terms  the  doctrine  of 
universal  education  for  men  and  women  alike  was 
Comenius,  the  last  bishop  of  the  Moravian  church. 
In  his  monumental  work,  "The  Great  Didactic,"  he 
gives  these  reasons  why  women  should  be  allowed 
to  engage  in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge,  advanced, 
as  well  as  elementary: 

"They  are  endowed  with  equal  sharpness  of  mind 
and  capacity  for  knowledge  (often  with  more  than 
the  opposite  sex),  and  they  are  able  to  attain  the  high- 
est positions,  since  they  have  often  been  called  by 
God  himself  to  rule  over  nations,  to  give  sound  advice 
to  kings  and  princes,  to  the  study  of  medicine  and  of 
other  things  which  benefit  the  human  race,  even  to  the 
office  of  prophesying  and  inveighing  against  priests 
and  bishops.  Why,  therefore,  should  we  admit  them 
to  the  alphabet  and  afterwards  drive  them  away  from 
books?  Do  we  fear  their  folly?  The  more  we  oc- 
cupy their  thoughts,  so  much  the  less  shall  folly  find 
a  place." 

A  thoroughly  modern  view,  held  by  many  of 
the  more  intellectual  women,  as  well  as  by  some 
of  the  more  intellectual  men  of  the  present  day, 
is  thus  expressed  by  the  president  of  Bryn-Mawr 
College : 

"Women's  education  should  be  the  same  as  men's, 


174  THE  EDUCATION  OP 

not  only  because  there  is,  I  believe,  but  one  best  edu- 
cation, but  because  men  and  women  are  to  live  and 
work  together  as  comrades  and  dear  friends  and  mar- 
ried friends  and  lovers;  and  because  their  effective- 
ness and  happiness  and  the  welfare  of  the  generations 
to  come  after  them  will  be  vastly  increased  if  their 
college  education  has  given  them  the  same  intellectual 
training  and  the  same  scholarly  and  moral  ideals." 

Having  thus  very  briefly  and  all  too  inade- 
quately sketched,  as  it  were,  the  history  of  opin- 
ion regarding  woman's  education,  let  us  spend  a 
few  moments  more  in  an  attempt  to  answer  for 
ourselves  the  question,  Of  what  should  the  modern 
woman's  education  consist?  Let  us  take  it  for 
granted,  without  argument,  that  woman's  edu- 
cation should  fit  her  to  discharge,  readily  and  ef- 
fectively and  agreeably,  duties  in  the  institutional 
life  of  which  she  is  to  become  a  part,  and  that 
these  duties  will  relate  to  the  home,  to  civil  so- 
ciety, to  the  state,  to  the  industrial  order,  and  to 
the  church.  If  she  be  qualified  for  service  in  these 
several  institutions,  no  one  would  question  that 
her  life  would  be  full  of  the  richest  worth  and 
solidest  satisfaction.  It  is  to  be  understood,  of 
course,  that  no  individual  woman,  as  no  individ- 
ual man,  would  equally  distribute  her  time  and 
her  talents  in  the  service  of  these  several  institu- 
tions, but  would  exercise  rational  judgment  in 
the  regulation  of  her  life.  Nevertheless,  the  fact 
remains  that  the  modern  woman  is  to  render  serv- 


THE  MODERN  WOMAN  175 

ice    in    the    various    forms    of    institutional   life 
named  above. 

What,  then,  should  be  her  educational  prep- 
aration for  service  in  the  home, — a  service  which 
has  been,  and  is  now,  her  greatest  service,  and 
one  to  which  the  signs  of  the  times  indicate 
greater  emphasis  and  greater  honor  are  to  be 
attached?  What  shall  be  the  course  of  study 
most  beneficial  to  her  who  is  to  be  the  presiding 
genius  of  the  home?  Certainly  this  curriculum 
should  provide  for  liberal  and  scientific  physical 
training.  On  this  point  Alfred  Fouillee,  a  mod- 
ern educational  writer  of  France,  gives  utter- 
ance to  a  most  important  truth  in  these  sen- 
tences, taken  from  his  work,  "Education  from  a 
National  Standpoint": 

"The  system  of  muscles  unexercised  and  brains  un- 
der hard  labor  is  still  more  disastrous  for  women  than 
for  men.  Woman  is,  par  excellence,  an  instrument  of 
natural  selection,  because  of  the  qualities  or  defects 
she  transmits  to  her  children.  Further,  woman  is  the 
object  of  a  second  form  of  selection,  which  results  in 
the  choice  and  triumph  of  the  qualities  most  advan- 
tageous to  the  race, — typical  beauty,  vigor,  and 
health.  .  .  .  Observation  and  statistics,  in  fact, 
show  us  that  to  excite  love  and  to  decide  voluntary 
selection,  the  most  powerful  means  woman  possesses 
are  those  which  spring  from  external  advantages; 
then  come  those  supplied  by  the  moral  qualities;  last 
and  weakest  are  those  due  to  intellectual  attractions; 
and  even  the  latter  depend  far  less  upon  acquired 


176  THE  EDUCATION  OF 

knowledge  than  upon  natural  faculties,  such  as  quick- 
ness, wit,  and  insight.  Here  a  lesson  in  pedagogy  is 
given  by  nature  herself,  condemning  the  unnatural 
education  at  present  in  vogue.  .  .  .  Nature  acts 
for  the  interest  of  the  race;  her  supreme  end  is  the 
welfare  of  posterity;  her  means,  the  selection  of 
couples  best  suited  to  that  end.  Now,  as  far  as  the 
race  is  concerned,  a  cultivated  intellect  based  upon  a 
bad  physique  is  of  little  worth,  since  its  descendants 
will  die  out  in  one  or  two  generations.  Conversely,  a 
good  physique,  however  poor  the  accompanying  men- 
tal endowments,  is  worth  preserving,  because, 
throughout  the  future  generations,  the  mental  endow- 
ments may  be  indefinitely  developed." 

The  proper  physical  education  of  our  girls,  let 
me  say  in  a  word,  may  be  accomplished  through 
a  rational  system  of  gymnastics,  and  through 
adequate  attention  to  their  games  and  sports.  I 
can  conceive  of  no  greater  blessing  to  be  enjoyed 
by  this  state  than  for  her  women  to  be  pro- 
foundly convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  doctrine  an- 
nounced by  Richard  Watson  Gilder,  at  a  banquet 
recently  given  in  New  York  City  to  the  English 
novelist,  Mrs.  Humphrey  Ward,  and  expressed  in 
this  language: 

"To  the  decree  that  mankind  shall  work  for  its  daily 
bread  is  added  the  decree  that  mankind  shall  play — 
for  the  salvation  of  both  its  body  and  its  soul — a  de- 
cree so  inwrought  in  the  very  constitution  of  man  that 
there  is  no  greater  danger  to  mankind,  especially  in 


THE  MODERN  WOMAN  177 

its  state  of  childhood,  than  the  prevention  or  the  mis- 
direction of  play." 

Again,  the  proper  training  of  the  home-maker 
and  the  home-keeper  involves  the  mastery  of 
knowledge  relating  to  the  physical,  intellectual, 
and  moral  development  of  children.  According 
to  Herbert  Spencer,  the  most  glaring  defect  in 
programs  of  education  is  the  failure  to  provide 
instruction  valuable  for  parental  guidance.  Says 
this  great  philosopher,  in  his  epoch-making  es- 
say, "What  Knowledge  Is  of  Most  Worth?": 

"If,  by  some  strange  chance,  not  a  vestige  of  us 
should  descend  to  the  remote  future  save  a  pile  of  our 
school  books  or  some  college  examination  papers,  we 
may  imagine  how  puzzled  an  antiquary  of  the  period 
would  be  on  finding  in  them  no  indication  that  the 
learners  were  ever  likely  to  be  parents.  'This  must 
have  been  the  curriculum  of  their  celibates/  we  may 
fancy  him  concluding.  'I  perceive  here  an  elaborate 
preparation  for  many  things,  especially  for  reading 
the  books  of  extinct  nations  and  of  co-existing  na- 
tions; .  .  .  but  I  find  no  reference  whatever  to 
the  bringing  up  of  children.  They  could  not  have 
been  so  absurd  as  to  omit  all  training  for  this  gravest 
of  responsibilities.  Evidently,  then,  this  was  the 
school  course  of  one  of  their  monastic  orders/  " 

In  another  of  Spencer's  educational  essays  he 
declares  that  no  rational  plea  can  be  put  forward 
for  leaving  the  study  of  education,  that  is  to  say, 


178  THE  EDUCATION  OF 

the  study  of  the  development  of  children,  out  of 
the  curriculum.  Bearing  directly,  as  well  as  in- 
directly, upon  the  happiness  of  the  parents  them- 
selves, and  affecting  the  character  and  lives  of 
their  children,  this  study,  he  contends,  should 
occupy  the  highest  and  largest  place  in  the  course 
of  instruction  passed  through  by  each  man  and 
woman.  "The  subject  which  involves  all  other 
subjects,"  he  remarks,  "and,  therefore,  the  sub- 
ject in  which  the  education  of  every  one  should 
culminate,  is  the  theory  and  practice  of  educa- 
tion." 

In  perfect  accord  with  Spencer's  views  con- 
cerning this  matter  is  a  series  of  articles  entitled 
"The  Pedagogical  Training  of  Parents,"  and 
published  this  year  in  The  Outlook.  These  ar- 
ticles have  recently  been  given,  in  book  form,  to 
the  public,  and  I  should  be  rejoiced  were  they  to 
be  read,  yea  studied,  by  every  mother  and  every 
prospective  mother  in  Texas.  One  of  the  editors 
of  that  journal,  in  connection  with  an  edi- 
torial commending  these  articles,  submits  some 
wise  reflections  in  the  issue  of  May  2,  1908.  So 
plain  and  sensible  are  his  suggestions,  that  I  deem 
it  worth  while  to  quote  these  sentences: 

"In  a  modern  play,  the  hero,  fleeing  from  unjust 
justice,  finds  an  automobilist  repairing  his  machine 
and  asks  to  be  taken  with  him.  'Do  you  know  any- 
thing about  an  automobile?'  asks  the  owner.  'Not  a 
thing.'  'Then  you'll  do  for  a  chauffeur.  Come 


THE  MODERN  WOMAN  179 

along/  It  is  upon  this  principle  that  the  responsi- 
bilities of  parenthood  are  very  generally  assumed. 
It  is  not  supposed  to  be  necessary  that  either  the 
father  or  the  mother  should  know  anything  of  the 
delicate  physical  and  moral  mechanism  of  the  child 
in  order  to  assume  the  full  responsibility  for  the 
child's  care  and  training.  It  has  been  thought  not 
to  be  in  accord  with  good  taste,  with  feminine  sensi- 
bility, with  modesty,  hardly  with  good  morals,  to  tell 
her  anything  concerning  the  mystery  of  life.  .  .  . 
In  our  plans  of  education  we  prepare  our  daughters 
for  everything  except  the  life  to  which  they  may  nat- 
urally be  expected  to  devote  themselves.  They  are 
trained  for  law,  for  medicine,  art,  engineering, — for 
everything  but  motherhood.  They  are  urged  to  in- 
fluence the  city,  the  state,  business,  politics,  the  pub- 
lic charities,  the  church, — everything  except  the  home. 
'To  write  and  read/  says  Dogberry,  'comes  by  na- 
ture/ He  seems  to  have  had  the  fashioning  of  the 
American  conception  of  the  family.  We  appear  to 
think  that  capacity  for  fatherhood  and  motherhood 
comes  by  nature." 

The  proper  direction  of  the  home,  further- 
more, requires  economic  qualifications  of  no  mean 
order.  The  term  wife  is  sometimes  said  to 
mean  weaver,  and,  truly,  the  mistress  of  a  do- 
mestic establishment  has  much  to  do  in  weaving 
the  fortunes  of  her  husband,  for  she  it  is  that  not 
only  regulates  the  consumption  and  expenditures 
of  the  household,  but  that,  also,  not  infrequently 
assists  generously  in  swelling  its  productive  in- 
come. No  true  wife  is  a  mere  parasite ;  she  is  an 


180  THE  EDUCATION  OF 

equal  partner  with  her  husband  in  the  business 
side  of  family  life.  Such  knowledge  as  will  fur- 
nish insight  into  these  economic  duties,  is,  there- 
fore, serviceable,  in  fact,  indispensable. 

The  second  institution  in  which  woman  must 
live  and  in  which  she  should  be  prepared  to  con- 
tribute intelligent  service,  is  the  state.  It  is  true 
that,  in  only  a  few  of  the  states  of  this  Union,  she 
is  given  the  privilege  of  directly  participating 
in  the  direction  of  governmental  affairs ;  but 
voting  and  holding  office  are  but  two  of  the  many 
privileges  of  American  citizenship.  While  these 
two  are,  for  the  most  part,  denied  to  woman,  she 
may  freely  enjoy  all  the  others,  and  even  these 
two  she  may  at  times  exercise  by  proxy.  Every 
department  of  our  government,  legislative,  exe- 
cutive, judicial,  is  of  as  tremendous  importance 
to  the  feminine,  as  it  is  to  the  masculine,  portion 
of  our  people,  and  woman  is,  therefore,  clearly 
entitled  to  such  training  in  history  and  political 
science  as  will  enable  her  to  reach  a  rational  com- 
prehension of  the  theory  of  government  and  the 
duties  of  patriotic  citizenship.  One  distinctive 
doctrine  of  modern  education  is  that  every  indi- 
vidual, male  or  female,  finds  in  his  or  her  own  life 
the  end  of  his  or  her  existence,  thereby  becoming 
freed  from  bondage  to  any  institution.  We  have, 
in  this  country,  at  last  reached  the  definite  con- 
clusion that  woman  should  stand  erect  in  her  own 
right,  and  that  she  may  justly  refuse  longer  to 
remain  in  slavery  to  even  so  noble  an  institution 


THE  MODERN  WOMAN  181 

as  the  home,  and  may,  without  humiliation  and 
without  loss  of  reputation  or  self-respect,  mani- 
fest great  concern  in  the  management  of  civil  af- 
fairs. 

The  third  institution  to  which  woman  owes  al- 
legiance, and  many  duties  relating  to  which  she 
has  already  become  accustomed  to  discharge,  is  the 
institution  known  as  civil  society.  So  expert  in 
the  discharge  of  some  of  the  social  functions  has 
become  a  type  of  womanhood  in  every  community, 
that  the  individuals  of  this  type  may,  in  reality, 
be  called  professional.  So-called  society  leaders 
make  a  business  of  giving  and  of  attending  social 
functions,  a  business  so  exacting  during  the 
greater  part  of  the  year  as  to  forbid  any  serious 
attention  to  matters  not  directly  connected  with 
the  continuous  round  of  pleasure-seeking.  A 
woman  must  needs  keep  busy  if  she  change  her 
costume  four  or  five  times  a  day.  It  is  a  matter 
of  no  small  labor  to  be  a  guest  at  dinings,  a  fre- 
quenter of  theaters,  house-parties,  germans,  etc., 
for  ten  or  eleven  months  in  the  year.  It  is  not 
disputed  that  to  shine  in  such  circles  contributes 
to  intellectual  development ;  but  no  one  would  have 
the  hardihood  to  assert  that  it  is  intellectual  de- 
velopment of  the  highest  order.  To  make  a  busi- 
ness of  play  is,  furthermore,  about  as  immoral  as 
to  make  play  of  business,  and  a  human  being 
ought  to  take  life  sufficiently  seriously  to  place 
proper  meets  and  bounds  to  the  hours  of  recrea- 
tion. 


182  THE  EDUCATION  OF 

Another  type  of  the  social  woman  (and  much 
is  to  be  said  in  praise  of  that  type)  is  the  club 
woman.  It  is,  perhaps,  true  that  some  women,  as 
some  men,  because  of  their  infatuation  for  club 
life  have  become  "jiners,"  and  have  obtained  mem- 
bership in  so  many  clubs  as  to  make  it  impossible 
to  attend  to  any  other  than  club  duties.  Their 
higher  duties,  those,  for  example,  pertaining  to 
the  care  of  their  own  offspring,  are,  perhaps 
thoughtlessly,  but  none  the  less  foolishly  and 
wickedly,  abandoned.  Such  women  fall  under  the 
condemnation  of  that  passage  of  Scripture  which 
reads:  "He  that  provideth  not  for  his  own 
household  is  worse  than  an  infidel." 

There  are,  nevertheless,  many  demands  which 
society  may  rightfully  make  upon  a  woman,  de- 
mands to  which  she  may  respond  in  all  good  con- 
science; but,  as  intimated  concerning  the  two 
types  of  society  women  just  now  discussed,  these 
demands  must  be  reasonable,  calling  for  only  such 
service  as  will  not  interfere  with  those  duties 
which  have  greater  and  more  righteous  claims. 
The  home  itself  is  greatly  enriched  and  sweet- 
ened, losing  its  spirit  of  narrowness  and  clan- 
nishness,  when  the  mother  takes  an  enlightened 
interest  and  plays  a  rational  part  in  the  social 
life  of  the  community. 

Still  another  institution  which  is  one  of  the 
fundamental  agencies  of  civilization,  and  in  which 
all  freely  admit  woman  may  work  with  great  pro- 
priety and  effectiveness,  is  the  church.  The 


THE  MODERN  WOMAN  183 

church  affords  opportunities  for  religious  devel- 
opment, and,  as  religion  is  the  broadest  thing  in 
the  world,  its  effects  upon  the  minds  and  hearts 
of  growing  minds  should  exercise  influences  of  the 
most  liberalizing  and  beneficent  character.  It  is, 
perhaps,  true  that,  under  the  domination  of  the 
Schoolmen,  the  church  gave  far  too  great  em- 
phasis to  the  formulating  of  doctrines  of  belief; 
but,  in  the  light  of  the  teaching  of  the  modern 
church  by  men  of  all  the  Christian  denominations, 
attention  is  now  concentrated  upon  the  fact  that 
religion  is  a  life  to  be  lived,  and  that  the  validity 
of  one's  religious  faith  is  to  be  determined  by  the 
amount  of  rational  service  he  renders  his  fellow- 
men.  In  accordance  with  this  modern  view,  the 
religious  education  of  woman,  to  be  carried  on  in 
the  home,  the  church,  and  the  school,  should  pre- 
pare her  not  only  to  give  a  reason  for  the  faith 
that  is  in  her,  but  also  to  manifest,  in  intelligent 
and  loving  service,  the  substantial  nature  of  that 
faith.  Now,  in  the  days  of  ancient  Rome  and 
Greece,  a  philosophy  of  life  that  regarded  the 
good  things  of  this  world,  only,  obtained.  Dur- 
ing the  Middle  Ages  an  other-worldly  view 
abounded ;  but  the  modern  woman,  neither  forget- 
ting nor  despising  the  things  of  this  world,  uses 
them  in  rational  ways  without  allowing  her  vision 
of  the  future  world  to  be  obscured.  In  response 
to  the  spirit  of  freedom  which  she  has  inherited, 
she  is  no  longer  a  mere  religious  vassal  and  asset 
4  of  priest  or  husband;  but  she  is  engaged  con- 


184  THE  EDUCATION  OF 

sciously  in  fashioning  her  own  future  according 
to  the  Divine  plan  as  she,  herself,  discovers  it  in 
Nature  and  in  Revelation. 

Again,  the  realm  of  industrial  life  constitutes 
another  institution  by  which  the  progress  of  the 
race  is  conserved  and  advanced,  and  in  which 
women  throughout  the  ages  have  rendered  vol- 
untary and  compulsory  service.  In  the  United 
States  in  the  year  of  1900,  the  persons  that  were 
ten  years  of  age  or  over  included  29,700,000  men 
and  28,300,000  women.  There  were  reported 
23,750,000  men  and  5,319,000  women,  respect- 
ively, that  were  engaged  in  work  for  which  com- 
pensation was  given.  Of  the  women  workers 
about  one-third  were  employed  by  various  manu- 
facturing concerns.  Five  hundred  thousand  were 
engaged  in  commercial  life,  being  bookkeepers, 
clerks,  stenographers;  2,000,000  were  employed 
as  domestic  servants,  housekeepers,  washer- 
women, and  laundresses;  over  100,000  were 
trained  nurses ;  and  430,000  were  following  pro- 
fessional or  intellectual  employments.  Of  the 
group  last  named,  300,000  served  as  teachers, 
3,000  as  preachers,  1,000  in  drafting,  790  as 
dentists,  2,193  as  journalists,  1,000  as  lawyers, 
7,400  as  physicians,  8,000  as  office-holders,  and 
6,000  as  literary  and  scientific  persons.  The 
great  majority  of  these  women  were,  by  neces- 
sity, undoubtedly,  compelled  to  resort  to  voca- 
tional pursuits.  Comparatively  speaking,  only 
a  small  number,  it  is  believed,  voluntarily  en- 


THE  MODERN  WOMAN  185 

tered  upon  industrial  or  professional  occupations. 
In  another  section  of  this  paper  emphasis  has 
been  laid  upon  the  fact  that  the  home  is  the  in- 
stitution to  which  woman  generally  owes  chief est 
allegiance.  The  home  is  the  fundamental  institu- 
tion of  society.  The  progress  and  hope  of  the 
race  is  dependent  upon  domestic  happiness  and 
efficiency.  The  woman,  therefore,  who  offers  up 
her  talents  upon  the  altar  of  vocational  life  to 
that  extent  sacrifices  herself  and  the  interests  of 
the  family  whose  destiny  is,  or  might  be,  placed 
in  her  keeping.  The  normal  woman  longs  for 
the  joys  incident  to  home  life,  and,  as  civilization 
becomes  more  and  more  rational,  the  number  of 
women  crowded  into  the  ranks  of  bread-winners 
will,  relatively  speaking,  be  decreased.  The  cry 
of  the  woman  bound  to  industrial  functions  was, 
in  a  recent  number  of  a  popular  magazine,  thus 
pathetically,  but  accurately  voiced.2 

Man's  work  is  mine,  tho'  woman  born; 
My  hurried  way  in  crowded  mart 
Is  trod  unswervingly  each  morn; 
I  live  a  thing  apart, 
I  bear  a  hungry  heart. 

Man's  love  and  babe's,  life  hath  denied; 

No  leisure  e'en  to  give  a  crust 

Is  mine,  swept  onward  with  the  tide 

Of  those  enslaved  by  lust 

Of  gold,  or  load  unjust. 

2  Elizabeth  G.  Barbour  in  American  Magazine,  May,  1909. 


186  THE  EDUCATION  OF 

I  would  not  vie  with  men  for  gain, 
Nor  in  the  sun  of  ease  would  bask; 
I — who  man's  burden  bear  with  pain — 
I  want  my  woman's  task. 
Give  this,  O  Lord,  I  ask! 

In  view  of  the  fact,  however,  that,  on  account 
of  the  exigencies  of  fortune,  many  women  are 
compelled  to  engage  in  labor  whereby  they  may 
earn  a  decent  living,  in  view  of  the  further  fact 
that  ability  in  this  direction  gives  one  a  sense  of 
personal  independence  and  capacitates  one  to  re- 
sist domestic  tyranny  courageously,  and  in  view 
of  yet  another  important  fact  that  the  proper 
management  of  the  home  demands  much  useful 
knowledge  related  to  some  of  the  forms  of  indus- 
trial life,  it  seems  wise  to  insist  that  the  educa- 
tion of  every  woman  should  include  instruction 
and  training  which  will  enable  her  to  make  her 
own  economic  way  in  the  world,  should  never  a 
suitor  for  her  hand  appear,  or  should  unworthy 
suitors  by  the  score  fall  at  her  feet.  A  very 
meager  living,  if  only  self-respect  be  saved,  is 
far  preferable  to  a  life  of  dependence,  from  which 
the  element  of  shame  is,  sad  to  relate,  sometimes 
not  entirely  eliminated. 

Having  submitted,  after  the  fashion  of  the  col- 
lege professor,  a  candid,  comprehensive  state- 
ment of  my  convictions  concerning  a  question  of 
the  greatest  importance  to  the  individual  and  to 
the  state,  let  me  turn  now  to  a  more  delightful 


THE  MODERN  WOMAN  187 

task,  and  conclude  this  address  with  words  of 
congratulation  and  felicitation  to  the  graduates 
in  whose  honor  we  are  this  hour  assembled. 
Young  ladies  of  the  graduating  class  of  1908, 
this  entire  audience  is  rejoicing  with  you  over  the 
praiseworthy  completion  of  four  years'  training 
and  instruction  that  have  broadened  your  intel- 
lectual horizon,  but  have  done  no  injury  to  your 
womanly  sympathies ;  that  have  conserved  and 
promoted  your  physical  health  and  strength,  but 
have  entailed  no  loss  of  that  modesty  which  is  the 
most  becoming  crown,  as  well  as  the  surest  de- 
fense, of  womanhood;  and  that  have  deepened 
your  insight  into  secular  affairs,  but  have  not  de- 
stroyed your  faith  in  the  fundamental  religious 
doctrine  that,  while  "the  things  that  are  seen 
are  temporal,  the  things  that  are  unseen  are  eter- 
nal." We  trust  that  the  future  has  in  store  for 
you  many  joys  and  triumphs,  with  only  sorrows 
and  struggles  enough  to  develop  those  splendid 
qualities,  the  possession  of  which  makes  one  rich 
indeed,  guaranteeing  as  it  does  that  peace  of  mind 
which  the  world  can  neither  give  nor  take  away. 
We  are  confident  that  you  will  bear  yourselves 
worthy  of  the  best  traditions  of  this  institution ; 
that  your  influence  in  civic  affairs  will  always  be 
exercised  in  behalf  of  temperance  and  justice  and 
purity;  that  to  society  circles  you  will  bring 
pleasure  without  folly,  and  enlightenment  with- 
out fanaticism ;  that,  in  whatever  forms  of  indus- 
trial life  your  lots  may  be  cast,  you  will  glorify 


188  THE  MODERN  WOMAN 

even  their  drudgery  by  your  fidelity  and  intel- 
ligence; and  that  in  the  home  you  will  find  your 
chiefest  and  your  supremest  delight,  for  you  will 
be  wise  if  you  heed  this  injunction  found  in  your 
college  catalogue: 

"Above  all  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  high- 
est sphere  and  noblest  function  of  woman  is  wife- 
hood,  that  of  the  right  rearing  of  offspring  and  the 
faithful  ordering  of  the  home.  Any  system  of  edu- 
cation that  ignores  these  highest  aims  and  spheres 
.  .  .  dishonors  a  woman  and  does  violence  to  the 
laws  of  Nature,  which  are  the  laws  of  God." 


THE  SIGNIFICANCE  OF  CHRISTIAN  EDU- 
CATION IN  THE  TWENTIETH 
CENTURY l 

Religion  is  one  of  the  permanent  inheritances 
of  the  race.  Furnishing  a  philosophy  of  life,  a 
view  of  the  world,  it  has  marked  the  evolution  of 
man  in  his  long  struggle  from  savagery  to  en- 
lightenment, and  there  is  abundant  evidence  for 
believing  that,  in  the  centuries  to  come,  religious 
ideals  will  remain  an  efficient  cause  in  his  eleva- 
tion to  yet  higher  forms  of  spiritual  life  and 
power. 

Because  of  this  contribution  of  a  view  of  the 
world,  determining  and  coloring  thought  and 
feeling  and  act,  we  are  not  surprised  that  reli- 
gion affects  education,  which  has  for  its  primary 
purpose  the  unfolding  of  the  powers  of  the  indi- 
vidual and  his  gradual  adjustment  to  the  civiliza- 
tion into  which  he  is  born,  in  which  he  is  to  share, 
and  to  which  he  should  render  reasonable  and 
efficient  service. 

To  the  student  of  educational  history  it  is  a 
well-known  fact  that,  ever  since  the  conquest  of 

iA   commencement   address   delivered   June  3,    1909,    at 
Texas  Christian  University,  Waco,  Texas. 
189 


190        CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  IN 

paganism  by  Christianity,  all  forms  of  educa- 
tional endeavor  have  been,  to  a  greater  or  a  less 
degree,  dominated  by  the  authority  of  the  Chris- 
tian church.  Certainly,  for  a  thousand  years 
and  more,  her  influence  upon  the  school  was  su- 
preme. But  from  the  time  of  the  second  Renas- 
cence, when  the  first  modern  man,  the  philosopher 
and  teacher,  Abelard,  had  the  courage  to  depart 
from  the  prescribed  paths  of  thinking,  there  has 
been  conflict  after  conflict  between  the  church  and 
other  institutions,  and  between  churchmen  them- 
selves who  entertained  antagonistic  opinions. 
The  school  has  not  infrequently  been  the  storm- 
center  of  the  struggling  factions,  and  to-day  it 
may  be  said  that  we  are  passing  through  that 
stage  of  evolution  which  would  be  denominated 
by  Herbert  Spencer  as  the  "disagreement  of  the 
inquiring." 

But,  nothwithstanding  the  fact  that  there  is 
yet  existing  great  diversity  of  educational  aims 
and  plans,  there  is  arising,  nevertheless,  prac- 
tical unanimity  with  respect  to  certain  funda- 
mental principles,  and  we  may  reasonably  hope 
that,  in  the  fullness  of  time,  by  patient  study  and 
honorable,  fair-minded  discussion,  the  bitterness 
and  partisanship  now  lingering  with  the  church 
on  the  one  side  and  with  the  state  on  the  other, 
and  the  jealousy  marking  the  relations  of  the 
Catholic  with  the  Protestant  world,  or  of  one 
Protestant  denomination  with  other  Protestant 
denominations,  will  be  entirely  destroyed,  and  the 


THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY      191 

two  great  institutions,  the  state  and  the  church, 
will  work  so  harmoniously  together  as  to  assure 
the  glory  of  them  both,  as  well  as  the  rational 
and  complete  development  of  the  individuals  by 
whom  they  are  composed,  and  through  whom  their 
ideals  are  to  be  realized.  On  this  occasion  it  is 
my  purpose  to  point  out  candidly  what  I  believe 
to  be  the  path  of  progress  toward  the  accomplish- 
ment of  that  result,  and  I  shall  confine  the  dis- 
cussion to  the  consideration  of  only  two  great 
characteristics,  or  manifest  tendencies,  of  the 
Christian  education  of  the  Twentieth  Century. 

In  the  first  place,  Christian  education  is  cer- 
tainly beginning  to  educate,  and  in  the  complete 
sense  of  that  term.  Partial  views  of  human  evo- 
lution cannot  now  be  accepted  for  the  regulation 
of  a  Christian  school  that  is  in  line  with  modern 
thought.  No  longer  can  monastic,  mediaeval  edu- 
cational philosophy  exercise  controlling  influence, 
for  provision  must  be  made,  not  only  for  strictly 
religious  instruction,  but  also  for  the  sane  and 
continuous  development  of  the  intellect  and  the 
body,  as  well,  and  that,  too,  for  the  sake  of  the 
higher  interests  of  the  soul  itself.  No  more  valu- 
able lesson  has  been  learned  by  the  modern  church 
than  that  man  is  a  unit,  soul  and  body  being  one, 
and  that  they  should  not  be  divided.  The  school 
of  the  Twentieth  Century,  keeping  in  mind  the 
necessity  of  ministering  to  the  needs  of  the  whole 
man,  will,  therefore,  have  an  extensive  curriculum, 
recognizing  studies  pertaining  to  human  nature 


192        CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  IN 

and  also  those  pertaining  to  nature.  Science  and 
religion  are  not  to  be  considered  as  enemies  who 
hate  one  another,  for,  as  Professor  Huxley  re- 
marks : 


"They  are  twin  sisters,  and  the  separation  of  either 
from  the  other  is  sure  to  prove  the  death  of  both. 
Science  prospers  exactly  in  proportion  as  it  is  reli- 
gious, and  religion  flourishes  in  exact  proportion  to  the 
scientific  depth  and  firmness  of  its  basis." 

Accordingly,  the  Christian  school,  working 
freely  and  without  fear  in  harmony  with  the 
spirit  of  true  science,  teaches  the  truth  as  it  is 
revealed  through  honest,  patient  study  of  the 
several  realms  of  human  learning.  Christianity 
wishes  only  the  truth  in  either  rhetoric  or 
biology;  in  ancient  or  modern  languages;  in 
art  or  in  mathematics ;  in  law  or  in  medicine ; 
in  engineering,  or  in  theology.  Men  and  women 
having  a  reason  for  the  Christian  faith  that  is 
in  them,  are  so  fully  persuaded  of  the  soundness 
of  the  foundations  of  that  faith  that,  far  from 
being  afraid  of  the  results  that  are  to  come  from 
the  investigations  of  truthful  men,  they  encour- 
age research  in  every  field  of  thought,  and  re- 
joice at  the  discovery  of  truth,  wherever  and  by 
whomsoever  it  may  be  found. 

Again,  Christian  education  is  rapidly  becoming 
dissatisfied  with  inadequate  means  for  the  per- 
formance of  its  great  work.  It  insists  that  each 


THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY      193 

school  shall  have  a  faculty  of  thoroughly  edu- 
cated men  and  women,  and  sufficiently  numerous 
to  discharge  in  a  truly  vital  and  professional 
way  the  delicate  and  difficult  functions  of  teach- 
ing. Furthermore,  sufficient  means  to  provide 
comfortable  and  appropriate  buildings,  together 
with  libraries,  laboratories  and  dormitories,  are 
now  considered  not  only  desirable,  but  also  ab- 
solutely necessary.  While  the  declaration  that 
Mark  Hopkins  at  one  end  of  a  log  and  a  capable 
student  at  the  other,  constitute  a  college,  is  a 
splendid  tribute  to  a  worthy  college  president, 
yet,  when  weighed  in  the  balance  of  reason,  this 
encomium  must  be  regarded  as  a  notable  example 
of  educational  hyperbole,  for  the  thinking  world 
is  agreed  that  a  college  in  modern  times  needs 
more  than  one  professor,  more  timber  than  one 
log,  and  a  student-body  of  more  than  one  indi- 
vidual. The  time  is  rapidly  approaching,  if,  in 
fact,  it  has  not  already  come,  when  a  foreigner, 
giving  an  account  of  collegiate  education  in 
America,  could  not  truthfully  make  such  state- 
ments as  the  following,  taken  from  "The  Ameri- 
can Commonwealth,"  written  by  that  careful  ob- 
server and  distinguished  man  of  letters  and  af- 
fairs, the  Honorable  James  Bryce: 

"I  remember  to  have  met  in  the  far  West  a  college 
president  [he  could  have  been  met  in  the  far  South- 
west]— I  will  call  him  Mr.  Johnson — who  gave  me  a 
long  account  of  his  young  university,  established  by 


194        CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  IN 

public  authority.  .  .  .  He  was  an  active,  san- 
guine man,  and,  in  dilating  on  his  plans,  frequently 
referred  to  'the  faculty'  as  doing  this  or  contemplat- 
ing that.  At  last  I  asked  of  how  many  professors 
the  faculty  at  present  consisted.  'Well/  he  an- 
swered, 'just  at  present  the  faculty  is  below  its  full 
strength;  but  it  will  soon  be  more  numerous/  'And 
at  present?'  I  inquired.  'At  present  it  consists  of 
Mrs.  Johnson  and  myself/  " 

Again,  Christian  schools  of  whatever  grade  will, 
by  means  of  both  instruction  and  training,  cul- 
tivate in  their  students  reasonable  degrees  of  ef- 
ficiency in  activities  relating  to  the  welfare  of  the 
individual,  but  more  especially  to  the  weal  of  so- 
cial institutions.  Individual  efficiency  may,  in 
fact,  be  regarded  as  a  by-product  of  social  effi- 
ciency. In  these  latter  days  no  man  liveth  unto 
himself,  and  we  are  rapidly  coming  to  exercise 
saving  faith  in  the  educational  ideal  formulated 
by  Herbart,  who  contended  that  the  whole  aim  in 
life,  and,  therefore,  in  education,  is  morality  (and 
by  this  he  means  a  Christian  morality),  and,  con- 
sequently, the  whole  aim  in  education  is  to  insure 
to  the  pupil  the  moral  revelation  of  the  world  of 
nature  and  the  world  of  man.  The  truth  is  that 
the  ultra-individualist,  the  man  who  works  only 
at  cross-purposes  with  his  fellows  in  the  home  or 
in  society  or  in  the  state  or  in  the  church  or  in 
the  industrial  world,  can  no  longer  be  considered 
an  educated  man.  We  may,  therefore,  boldly  as- 
sert, and  without  dogmatism,  that  Christian  edu- 


THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY      195 

cation  in  the  Twentieth  Century,  having  inherited 
the  labors  of  the  preceding  centuries,  and  having 
profited  by  educational  doctrines  of  permanent 
worth  contributed  by  those  centuries,  is  ready  to 
adopt  the  highest  conception  of  education,  which, 
perhaps,  from  the  standpoint  of  the  schoolman, 
has  been  no  more  clearly  and  satisfactorily  for- 
mulated than  in  these  words,  which  are  quoted  from 
a  pedagogical  work  published  a  few  years  ago  by 
a  brilliant  young  American  scholar  and  teacher: 

"Education  is  the  eternal  process  of  superior  ad- 
justment of  the  physically  and  mentally  developed, 
free,  conscious  human  being  to  God,  as  manifested  in 
the  intellectual,  emotional,  and  volitional  environment 
of  man."  2 

In  the  second  place,  education  directed  by  the 
Christian  church  of  the  Twentieth  Century  is  to 
possess  in  a  far  higher  degree  than  in  any  preced- 
ing century,  the  fundamental  characteristics  of 
the  spirit  of  the  founder  of  the  Christian  religion. 
Preeminently  among  these  characteristics  stands 
regard  for  the  welfare  of  one's  fellows.  The  life 
which  the  Christ  lived  among  men,  from  begin- 
ning to  end,  furnishes  concrete  proof  of  the  valid- 
ity of  this  doctrine.  The  second  of  the  two 
great  commandments,  upon  which  He  said  hang 
all  the  law  and  the  prophets,  is,  "Love  thy  neigh- 
bor as  thyself."  Though  uttered  two  thousand 

2  Home's  "The  Philosophy  of  Education,"  p.  285. 


196        CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  IN 

years  ago,  it  was  reserved  until  our  day  for  man 
to  understand  that  his  neighbors  include  the  men 
in  his  own  immediate  environment  who  sit  in  dark- 
ness, as  well  as  those  who  walk  in  the  light ;  those 
who  are  of  different  blood,  as  well  as  those  of  the 
same  blood  as  himself;  those  who  live  in  distant 
lands,  as  well  as  in  his  own  country;  those  who 
are  at  enmity  with  himself,  that  persecute  him  and 
despitefully  use  him,   as  well   as   those  who  are 
reckoned   among  his   friends   and  who   give   him 
comfort  and  who  delight  to  do  him  honor.     This 
principle  of  love,  having  firm  foundation  upon  the 
underlying  doctrines  that  God  is  the  father  of 
all  men,  and  that,  therefore,  all  men  are  brothers, 
is  destroying,  slowly,  perhaps,  but  surely,  the  va- 
rious forms  of  caste,  founded  upon  the  basis  of 
blood  or  wealth  or  latitude  or  longitude  or  pro- 
fession or  avocation  or  any  other  fortuitous  cir- 
cumstances, and  is  strengthening  the  true  Chris- 
tian ideal  of  democracy  among  men.     It  is  be- 
cause of  faith  in  this  democratic  ideal  that  tre- 
mendous systems  of  popular  education  at  public 
expense  have  been  established,  and  are  destined 
to  bless  the  world  with  their  fruits  of  intelligence 
and  righteousness.     It  is  this  spirit  that  is  res- 
cuing the  laboring  common  people  from  a  state 
of  bondage,  and  which  promises  to  confer  upon 
them  in  due  time  the  enjoyment  of  all  reasonable 
political  and  social  privileges.     It  is  this  spirit 
that  has  been  bringing  more  justice  and  right- 
eousness and  humanity  into  the  world  of  business, 


THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY      197 

into  the  legislative  hall,  into  the  court-room,  into 
the  prison,  and  into  every  other  place  where  hu- 
man rights  should  be  regarded.  It  is  this  spirit 
that,  within  the  last  hundred  years,  has  made  the 
missionary  movement  at  home  and  abroad  an  un- 
dertaking of  stupendous,  world-wide  proportions. 
What  has  already  been  accomplished  is  only  a 
prophecy  of  what  is  to  be  revealed  in  the  future, 
when  the  whole  earth  shall  appreciate  the  fullness 
of  the  meaning  of  the  words  of  the  great  apostle 
to  the  Gentiles,  "Now  abideth  faith,  hope,  love, 
these  three;  but  the  greatest  of  these  is  love." 

Growing  directly  out  of  the  altruism  charac- 
teristic of  the  Son  of  Man  is  the  spirit  of  toler- 
ance. It  is  remarkable,  although  it  may  be  eas- 
ily explained,  that  the  conduct  of  the  Christian 
church  for  hundreds  of  years  was  marked  by  a 
degree  of  intolerance  sadly  inconsistent  with  the 
teachings  and  life  of  Him  who  could  associate 
with  publicans  and  sinners,  and  so  much  at  va- 
riance with  the  loving  words  and  labors  of  that 
greatest  of  all  the  apostles,  who,  in  his  letter  to 
the  Romans,  remarked:  "I  am  debtor  both  to 
the  Greeks  and  barbarians,  both  to  the  wise  and 
the  unwise ;  so,  as  much  as  in  me  is,  I  am  ready  to 
preach  the  gospel  to  you  that  are  at  Rome,  also." 

No  other  religion  found  among  men  lays  so  in- 
sistent demand  upon  the  continuous  manifesta- 
tion of  a  tolerant  attitude  of  mind,  for  no  other 
religion  emphasizes  the  universal  brotherhood  of 
the  race,  thereby  recognizing  that  reason,  the 


198        CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  IN 

characteristic  attribute  of  the  human  mind,  is  an 
attribute  shared  by  all  men.  Even  the  Hebrew 
religion,  which  was  the  purest  of  all  the  religions 
of  ancient  times,  and  upon  which  the  Christian  re- 
ligion was  grafted,  was  too  narrow  to  contain  the 
spirit  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  who  commanded 
that  it  be  preached  among  all  nations,  beginning 
at  Jerusalem.  The  Christian  world  has  been  slow 
to  develop  magnanimity  of  soul,  a  condition  which 
only  the  tolerant  mind  can  reach,  and  it  has  been 
equally  careless  to  protect  itself  from  the  wither- 
ing influences  of  narrowness  and  bigotry.  But 
are  we  not  now  at  least  beginning  to  suspect  that 
the  spirit  of  Christ  does  not  shine  forth  in  the 
life  of  the  Protestant  who  despises  the  Catholic, 
and  vice  versa;  that  the  Christian  who  scorns  the 
Jew  is  not  living  worthy  of  the  vocation  where- 
with the  Christian  is  called,  and  that  especially 
indefensible,  if  not  contemptible,  is  a  Protestant 
sect  which  seeks  to  limit  the  love  of  God  and  the 
salvation  of  men  to  those  only  that  can,  with 
great  facility  of  speech  and  expansion  of  lungs, 
pronounce  its  shibboleth?  Are  we  not  almost 
ready  to  believe  that  the  education  which  Christ 
would  approve  is  not  to  consist  of  special  propa- 
gandas, but  that  it  is  to  present  loyally  and 
earnestly  the  whole  truth,  which  is  without  pro- 
vincialism and  self-righteousness,  and  by  which 
the  rational  freedom  of  the  world  is  to  be 
achieved?  These  questions  being  answered  in  the 
affirmative,  it  follows  that  every  educational  in- 


THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY      199 

stitution  from  the  kindergarten  to  the  university, 
if  it  be  worthy  to  wear  the  name  of  the  Master 
it  professes  to  serve,  will  so  prosecute  its  labors 
as  to  strengthen  the  bonds  of  union  among  men 
upon  the  basis  of  mutual  courtesy  and  reason- 
ableness and  sympathy,  thereby  affording  sure 
protection  against  Phariseeism,  the  anti-social 
mother  of  pride,  of  hatred,  and  of  bigotry. 

A  third  attribute  of  Christian  education,  looked 
at  from  the  religious  standpoint,  is  zeal  for  social 
service.     The  development  of  the  individual  for 
his  own  sake  and  without  regard  to  his  institu- 
tional obligations,  if  universally  practiced,  would 
establish    everywhere    the    reign    of    selfishness, 
which,  according  to  the  Christian  view,  is  the  seat 
of  mortal  sin.     It  was  this  reign  of  individualism 
which  attacked  Greece  in  the  immortal  Fifth  Cen- 
tury, B.  C.,  and  which  destroyed  the  foundations 
of   her   religious   and   political   institutions,   and 
which  finally  led  to  the  loss  of  her  independence. 
The  problem  of  the  ages  has  been  how  to  recon- 
cile the  freedom  of  the  individual  and  the  right 
to  his  own  individuality  with  the  power  of  the 
social  institution  and  its  justice  in  levying  trib- 
ute upon  human  beings  by  whom  it  is  composed. 
It  was  reserved  to  the  Christian  religion  to  bring 
about  this  reconciliation.     It  is  the  one  religion 
of  earth  which  lays  emphasis  upon  the  majesty  of 
the  individual  and  at  the  same  time  enjoins  upon 
him  the  duty  of  spending  and  of  being  spent  in 
the  cause  of  human  progress.     The  Middle- Age 


£00        CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  IN 

view  of  devoting  one's  life  to  the  saving  of  his 
own  soul  cannot,  in  our  day,  be  regarded  as  an 
essentially  Christian  doctrine;  for,  as  Joseph 
Parker  declares: 

"Salvation  is  not  solitude.  .  .  .  Salvation  is 
the  art  of  a  noble  fellowship.  .  .  .  No  salvation 
is  so  selfish  as  pious  selfishness;  no  cruelty  is  so  cruel 
as  Christian  cruelty.  .  .  .  'Are  you  saved?'  may 
be  a  wicked  inquiry.  In  another  sense  there  can  be 
no  greater  question  than  'Are  you  saved?'  Are  you 
a  new  creature,  a  liberated  soul,  a  mind  on  whom 
there  shines  the  whole  heaven  of  God's  light?'  Are 
you  a  soldier,  a  servant,  a  helper  of  the  helpless,  a 
leader  of  the  blind?  Are  you  akin  to  the  soul  of 
Christ?" 

The  Twentieth  Century  is  asking  that  all  forms 
of  education  conducted  under  Christian  auspices 
cultivate  this  kinship  to  the  soul  of  Christ. 
Even  the  theological  seminaries,  though  they  have 
been  the  slowest  of  educational  institutions  to 
catch  the  breath  of  modern  progress,  as  well  as 
to  interpret  rationally  the  great  purpose  in  the 
heart  of  the  Founder  of  the  Christian  religion, 
are  manifesting  signs  of  the  reorganization  of 
their  courses  of  study  and  methods  of  instruction. 
These  changes  are  coming  in  response  to  the  de- 
mand that  schools  for  the  education  of  the  min- 
istry are  under  bond  to  equip  men  with  sufficient 
insight,  born  of  both  instruction  and  practical 
training,  to  interpret  aright  modern  social  con- 


THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY      201 

ditions  and  to  apply,  tactfully  and  effectively,  the 
Christian  gospel  in  the  solution  of  the  many  com- 
plex problems  with  which  these  conditions  abound. 
It  is  believed  that  young  men  of  the  highest  tal- 
ent are  willing  to  prepare  themselves  for  such  a 
noble  struggle;  but  that  they  are  not  willing  to 
engage  in  the  continuation  of  theological  disputes 
that  have  long  ago  ceased  to  be  interesting  save 
on  account  of  their  historical  significance  alone. 
The  theological  education  that  young  men  of 
brains  and  enterprise  and  consecration  are  de- 
manding is  that  which  fits  for  actual  service  in 
the  present  age  of  the  world.  In  proportion  as 
this  great  fact  becomes  recognized  by  schools  en- 
gaged in  educating  men  and  women  for  the  min- 
istry, just  in  that  proportion  will  they  furnish 
an  education  that  is  truly  Christian. 

Another  cardinal  principle  in  all  education 
rightfully  claiming  to  be  Christian,  is  courage. 
One's  heart  may  be  altruistic  in  the  very  highest 
degree ;  he  may  be  a  stranger  to  the  intolerant 
attitude  of  mind ;  he  may  have  the  disposition  to 
render  service  to  his  fellows;  but,  if  his  will  be 
weak,  if  he  lack  determination  and  fearlessness  of 
purpose,  he  will  inevitably  be  called  upon  to  meet 
situations  before  which  his  heart  will  quail,  and  he 
will  yield  to  the  temptation  of  retiring  from  the 
contest.  Modern  life,  especially,  is  full  of  oppor- 
tunities for  testing  the  worth  of  the  human  will, 
and  the  Twentieth  Century  is  offering  no  pre- 
miums for  the  man  who  is  unwilling,  in  any  cause 


202        CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  IN 

which  he  may  espouse,  to  lead  the  strenuous  life. 
This  doctrine  was  presented  in  these  words  by 
President  Roosevelt  in  an  address  delivered  on 
the  200th  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  John  Wes- 
ley: 

"If,  during  this  century  the  men  of  high  and  fine 
moral  sense  show  themselves  weaklings;  if  they  pos- 
sess only  that  cloistered  virtue  which  shrinks,  shudder- 
ing, from  contact  with  the  raw  facts  of  actual  life; 
if  they  dare  not  go  down  into  the  hurly-burly  where 
the  men  of  might  contend  for  the  mastery;  if  they 
stand  aside  from  the  pressure  and  conflict;  then,  as 
surely  as  the  sun  rises  and  sets,  all  our  great  material 
progress,  all  the  multitude  of  physical  agencies  which 
tend  to  comfort  and  enjoyment  will  go  for  naught, 
and  our  civilization  will  become  a  brutal  sham  and 
mockery." 

This  element  of  character,  which  is  called  cour- 
age, implies,  besides,  that  one  shall  have  the  dis- 
position and  the  ability  to  be  true  to  himself,  to 
think  his  own  thoughts  and  to  stand  for  them, 
even  at  the  risk  of  running  counter  to  opinions 
largely  or,  perhaps,  almost  universally  upheld  by 
his  contemporaries.  One  has  that  courage  which 
the  apostle  says  should  be  added  to  faith,  when 
his  conduct  in  the  crises  of  life  is  fashioned  after 
that  of  John  the  Baptist  before  Herod,  of  Paul 
before  Agrippa,  of  Luther  before  the  Diet  at 
Worms,  and  of  Christ  before  Pilate.  A  man  en- 
titled to  the  highest  degree  for  which  Christian 


THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY      203 

education  furnishes  adequate  preparation  must 
be  conscious  of  inner  freedom,  must  know  that 
he  is  the  vassal  and  the  property  of  no  institution, 
however  exalted  its  name  and  its  character,  and 
must  be  ready,  if  necessary,  to  give  up  every 
earthly  possession  rather  than  sacrifice  this,  the 
very  essence  of  his  selfhood.  It  is  by  the  mani- 
festation of  this  attribute  of  the  soul  that  man 
wins  his  greatest  glory.  This  thought  was  in  the 
poet's  mind  when  he  wrote:3 

"It  is  glory  enough  to  have  shouted  the  name 
Of  the  living  God  in  the  teeth  of  an  army  of  foes, 
To  have  thrown  all  prudence  and  forethought  away 
And  for  once  to  have  followed  the  call  of  the  soul 
Out  into  the  danger  of  darkness,  of  ruin  and  of 

death, 

To  have  counseled  with  right,  not  success,  for  once, 
Is  glory  enough  for  one  day. 

"It  is  glory  enough  for  one  day 
To  have  marched  out  alone  before  the  seats  of  the 

scornful, 

Their  fingers  all  pointing  your  way; 
To  have  felt  and  wholly  forgotten  the  branding-iron 

of  their  eyes; 
To  have  stood  up  proud  and  reliant  on  only  your 

soul, 

And  go  calmly  on  with  your  duty — 
It  is  glory  enough. 

s  William  Herbert  Carruth  in  American  Magazine,  Feb- 
ruary, 1907. 


204        CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  IN 

"It  is  glory  enough  to  have  taken  the  perilous  risk 
Instead  of  investing  in  stocks  and  paid-up  insurance 

for  once, 
To  have  fitted  a  cruiser  for  right  to  adventure  a  sea 

full  of  shoals; 
To  sail  without  chart  and  with  only  the  stars  for  a 

guide ; 

To  have  dared  to  lose  with  all  the  chances  for  losing, 
Is  glory  enough." 

There  have  been  set  forth  in  your  hearing,  very 
hastily  and  inadequately,  it  is  true,  the  two  tend- 
encies of  Christian  education  in  our  century,  the 
tendency  that  demands  the  employment  of  ra- 
tional, honest,  efficient  educative  agencies,  and 
the  tendency  that,  in  organization,  in  content, 
and  in  method,  it  embody  the  simple,  yet  sublime, 
characteristic  attributes  of  the  founder  of  Chris- 
tianity. It  would  be  interesting  to  continue  the 
discussion  by  locating  and  describing  the  work  of 
the  several  educational  institutions  that  are  to 
carry  forward  the  development  of  the  race  to- 
ward that  spiritual  goal  which  was  set  up  by 
Jesus  of  Nazareth,  and  the  vision  of  which,  it 
seems,  in  our  century,  is  becoming  clearly  defined. 

The  shortness  of  the  time  at  my  disposal,  as 
well  as  of  your  patience,  prevents  the  extended 
treatment  of  this  important  question,  a  question 
to  which  many  diverse  answers  would  be  given,  a 
question  full  of  complexity  and  difficulty,  yet  a 
question  to  which  it  is  believed  the  Twentieth  Cen- 
tury will  offer  at  least  the  beginnings  of  a  satis- 


THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY      205 

factory  answer.  Even  already  there  is  the  ap- 
pearance of  progress  toward  unanimity  of  opin- 
ion ;  even  now  there  are  not  a  few  thoughtful  men 
and  women  who  subscribe  to  the  view  that  Chris- 
tian education  can  be,  and  should  be,  found  in 
every  home  and  in  every  school  whether  ele- 
mentary, secondary,  or  higher,  whether  main- 
tained by  a  private  individual,  by  church,  or  by 
state  or  by  other  corporate  body. 

In  some  nations  the  strife  between  church  and 
state  has  not  yet  ended,  and  the  difficulties  of 
the  problem  of  religious  education  in  the  secular 
school  cannot  now  be  overcome.  In  America, 
however,  there  is  presented  no  insuperable  diffi- 
culty. While  we  have  no  state  religion,  there  is, 
as  DeTocqueville  remarks,  "religion  in  the  state." 
It  is  commonly  agreed  that  all  sectarian  instruc- 
tion be  legally  banished  from  schools  supported 
at  the  expense  of  the  state ;  but  the  vital  prin- 
ciples of  Christianity  are  anything  but  sectarian 
(it  is  my  own  belief  that  they  are  not  sectarian 
because  they  are  true). 

In  one  of  the  opinions  handed  down  by  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  Pennsylvania,  occurs  this  lan- 
guage: 

"Christianity,  general  Christianity,  is,  and  always 
has  been,  a  part  of  the  common  law  of  Pennsylvania; 
.  .  .  not  Christianity  with  an  established  church 
and  tithes  and  spiritual  courts,  but  Christianity  with 
liberty  of  conscience  for  all  men." 


206        CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  IN 

Mr.  Justice  Brewer,  in  delivering  in  1891  the 
opinion  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  the  case  of  Holy 
Trinity  church  against  the  United  States,  an 
opinion  which  declared  that  the  employment  of 
an  Englishman  to  serve  as  the  pastor  of  an  Amer- 
ican church  is  not  in  violation  of  the  law  forbid- 
ding the  importation  of  foreigners,  discusses  at 
length  the  fact  that  the  American  people  are  a 
religious  people,  and  that  their  governments  re- 
spect the  sanctions  of  religion.  After  quoting 
from  the  constitutions  and  laws  of  a  number  of 
states  and  of  the  Nation,  he  adds: 

"There  is  no  dissonance  in  these  declarations. 
There  is  a  universal  language  pervading  them  all,  hav- 
ing one  meaning;  they  affirm  and  reaffirm  that  we  are 
a  religious  people.  These  are  not  individual  sayings, 
declarations  of  private  persons;  they  are  organic 
utterances ;  they  speak  the  voice  of  the  entire  people." 

In  harmony  with  the  views  in  Justice  Brewer's 
celebrated  opinion  are  the  decisions  of  the  higher 
courts  of  Texas  in  a  case  which  originated  in 
Corsicana,  and  in  which  the  plaintiffs  sought  to 
prevent  the  reading  of  the  Bible,  the  singing  of 
hymns,  and  the  offering  of  prayer  in  the  public 
schools  of  that  city.  Chief  Justice  Rainey,  who 
delivered  the  opinion  for  the  Court  of  Civil  Ap- 
peals of  the  Dallas  district,  in  giving  reasons  for 
the  decision,  which  was  rendered  against  the 
plaintiffs,  declared  that  the  laws  of  the  state 


THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY      207 

neither  require  nor  forbid  the  use  of  the  Bible  in 
the  public  schools,  and  that,  therefore,  the  Court 
would  not  declare  its  use  unlawful  simply  because 
there  is  apprehension  that  the  school  authorities 
may  abuse  its  use  by  attempting  to  teach  sec- 
tarian views.  It  was,  furthermore,  set  forth 
that  the  Bible  is  not  a  sectarian  book,  but 
one  teaching  the  principles  of  morality,  which 
tend  to  elevate  humanity  to  a  high  plane  and  to 
produce  an  exalted  type  of  civilization,  to 
reach  which  should  be  the  aim  of  all  govern- 
ments. The  case  was  appealed  to  the  Supreme 
Court,  and,  in  the  opinion  delivered  by  As- 
sociate Justice  Brown  in  1908,  the  judgments 
of  the  district  court  and  the  Court  of  Civil  Ap- 
peals were  affirmed.  The  concluding  paragraph 
of  Justice  Brown's  opinion  reads  as  follows: 

"There  is  no  difference  in  the  protection  given  by 
our  constitution  between  citizens  of  this  state  on  ac- 
count of  religious  beliefs, — all  are  embraced  in  its 
broad  language  and  are  entitled  to  the  protection 
guaranteed  thereby;  but  it  does  not  follow  that  one 
or  more  individuals  have  the  right  to  have  the  courts 
deny  the  people  the  privilege  of  having  their  children 
instructed  in  the  moral  truths  of  the  Bible  because 
such  objectors  do  not  desire  that  their  own  children 
shall  be  participants  therein.  This  would  be  to  starve 
the  moral  and  spiritual  natures  of  the  many  out  of 
deference  to  the  few." 

It  is  not  likely  that,  within  the  narrow  limits 


£08        CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  IN 

of  a  single  century,  the  results  of  the  conflict 
between  church  and  state  will  have  entirely  dis- 
appeared; but  the  organization  and  the  work  of 
the  National  Religious  Education  Association  in 
our  country,  the  increased  fellowship  among  the 
several  religious  denominations,  the  growth  of  in- 
telligence, and  the  emphasis  upon  essentials  and 
the  disregard  of  non-essentials  in  religion — all 
these  and  many  other  evidences  that  could  be 
enumerated,  furnish  the  foundation  for  the  hope 
that  the  time  will  come  when  real  education, 
wherever  it  may  be  afforded,  will  not  fail  to  give 
such  attention  to  religious  culture  as  its  impor- 
tance and  necessity  demand.  When  that  day 
comes,  there  cannot  possibly  arise  jealousy  and 
antagonism  among  schools  fostered  by  various 
agencies,  because  all  will  be  directing  their  efforts 
for  the  accomplishment  of  the  same  results.  I 
rejoice  that  to-day  in  Texas  we  have  begun  to 
realize  the  beauty  and  the  value  of  the  Christian 
virtue  of  living  together  in  harmony  and  of  work- 
ing together  in  the  higher  interests  of  the  rising 
generation  of  our  great  state.  Every  man  who 
is  promoting  the  bonds  of  fellowship  among  the 
schools  of  the  church  and  the  schools  of  the  state 
is  helping  to  speed  the  coming  of  that  day  when 
the  schools  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of 
our  commonwealth  will,  as  the  result  of  their  la- 
bors, send  forth  into  the  several  walks  of  life 
men  and  women  of  whom  it  can  be  truthfully  said, 
"As  to  scholarship  they  need  not  apologize,  and 


THE  TWENTIETH  CENTURY      209 

as  to  their  character,  the  Christian  church  has 
no  reason  for  regret  or  alarm." 

In  conclusion,  let  me  extend  to  you,  the  mem- 
bers of  the  graduating  class,  the  sincere  congrat- 
ulations of  the  governing  body  of  this  university, 
of  its  faculty,  of  this  entire  audience,  and  of 
thousands  of  other  good  people  who  have  an  abid- 
ing interest  in  all  that  concerns  the  welfare  of 
this  institution.  By  your  fidelity  to  duty,  ofttimes 
discharged  at  the  expense  of  great  self-denial,  you 
have  overcome  obstacle  after  obstacle  in  your  col- 
legiate career.  From  your  alma  mater  you  to- 
day receive  your  diplomas,  which  are  your  com- 
missions into  the  world  of  letters  and  the  world 
of  life,  and  by  the  awarding  of  which  she  ex- 
presses her  confidence  in  your  culture  and  your 
character.  She  has,  during  these  last  four  years, 
with  the  zeal  and  affection  of  a  mother,  devoted 
herself  to  your  service.  By  practice,  as  well  as 
by  precept,  she  has  set  before  you  the  ideals  of 
education  which  the  Great  Teacher  Himself  would 
indorse.  She  now  sends  you  forth  to  reproduce, 
in  your  own  lives  and  in  their  influence  upon  other 
lives,  her  teaching  and  her  spirit.  She  expects 
you  to  be  friendly  to  scholars,  to  be  sympathetic 
with  all  phases  of  true  learning,  and  to  be  loyal  to 
honest  standards  in  educational  adminstra- 
tion.  While  she  is  justified  in  the  hope  that,  from 
the  secular  point  of  view,  you  will  plainly  mani- 
fest the  evidences  of  a  liberal  education,  she  is 
far  more  concerned  that  the  results  of  her  min- 


210  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION 

istry  be  revealed  in  the  Christian  fruits  of  the 
love,  tolerance,  service,  and  courage  you  will  ex- 
hibit in  the  long  years  stretching  out  before  you. 
Or,  rather,  let  me  say,  if  she  will  not  consider  me 
overbold  in  the  presumption  that  my  wish  is  hers, 
her  supreme  desire  is,  that,  inasmuch  as  the  secu- 
lar life  and  the  religious  life  are  not  two  things, 
but  only  one  thing,  you  will  think  education  and 
religion  into  a  lasting  unity,  and  that,  so  far  as 
opportunity  be  afforded,  you  will  contend  for  that 
unity,  without  which  it  is  idle  to  hope  for  the 
reign  of  genuine  progress  and  permanent  peace 
among  men.  As  the  man  of  your  counsel  she 
urges  you  to  accept  the  man  of  Galilee,  the  match- 
less counselor  of  the  ages,  for,  in  the  Twentieth 
Century,  as  in  the  nineteen  centuries  that  have 
gone  before,  He  is  "the  Way,  the  Truth,  and  the 
Life." 


XI 


SOME      FUNDAMENTAL      EDUCATIONAL 

PRINCIPLES  APPLIED  TO  THE  WORK 

OF  THE  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  l 

The  increasing  number  of  rational  religious 
activities  in  our  day  is  proof  of  the  fact  that  we 
are  beginning  to  realize  the  truth  of  this  state- 
ment, found  in  the  parable  of  the  unjust  stew- 
ard: "The  children  of  this  world  are,  in  their 
generation,  wiser  than  the  children  of  light."  2 
This  state  conference  of  a  great  denomination  is 
sufficient  proof  that  its  leaders  are  taking 
thought  whereby  the  work  of  the  Sunday-school 
shall  be  so  conducted  as  to  justify  the  time  and 
labor  and  money  spent  thereon,  and  to  be  worthy 
of  Him  in  whose  name  it  is  accomplished.  The 
contribution  I  bring  to  you  this  evening  has  been 
prepared  with  the  hope  and  with  the  conviction 
that  some  lessons  learned  in  the  study  of  prob- 
lems relating  to  secular  education  are  equally 
valuable  when  transferred  to  the  realm  of  reli- 
gious education.  The  truth  is  that  it  is  man's 
mind  or  soul  that  is  religious,  and  the  laws  of 

iAn  address  delivered  in  San  Antonio,  April  6,  1910, 
before  the  Texas  Methodist  State  Sunday-school  Confer- 
ence. 

2  Luke  16:8. 

211 


EDUCATIONAL  PRINCIPLES 

mental  development  are  fundamentally  impor- 
tant when  we  come  to  consider  man's  spiritual 
progress.  If  the  Sunday-school  is  to  continue 
to  wear  its  name,  it  must  be  worthy  of  that  name, 
and  must,  therefore,  be  subject  to  the  pedagogic 
laws  governing  any  institution  rightfully  claim- 
ing to  be  a  school. 

Attention  is  now  invited  to  a  brief  considera- 
tion of  two  principles,  one  relating  to  the  organi- 
zation of  the  school,  and  the  other  to  the  method 
which  should  obtain  in  Sunday-school  teaching. 

I.    ORGANIZATION 

The  first  principle  may  be  stated  thus:  The 
life  and  the  progress  of  the  Sunday-school  are  de- 
pendent upon  the  rational  organization  of  the 
several  parts  of  which  it  is  composed. 

Every  social  institution  is  a  spiritual  organ- 
ism, and,  if  it  is  to  accomplish  the  purposes  of 
its  life,  its  several  parts  must  be  brought  into 
right  relations  with  one  another,  each  part  func- 
tioning for  the  well-being,  not  of  itself  alone,  but 
also  of  the  entire  organism.  This  is  a  universal 
biologic  law,  the  evidences  of  which  may  be  found 
on  every  hand.  In  the  world  of  trade,  for  ex- 
ample, the  Standard  Oil  trust  illustrates  most 
forcibly  the  effectiveness  of  knitting  together  the 
several  agencies  by  means  of  which  that  colossal 
enterprise  has  been  so  developed  as  to  destroy 
competition,  to  defy  courts,  legislatures,  con- 


APPLIED  TO  SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

gresses,  and  even  public  opinion,  and  to  make  it 
possible  for  its  creative  genius  to  transmit  to  fu- 
ture generations,  for  philanthropic  purposes,  a 
fortune,  the  amount  of  which  it  almost  staggers 
the  imagination  of  a  preacher  or  a  college  pro- 
fessor to  conceive. 

In  politics,  also,  the  value  of  organized  effort 
cannot  be  overestimated.  Ask  any  candidate  for 
governor  by  what  means  he  is  certain  of  the  nomi- 
nation at  the  primaries  next  July,  and  he  will  tell 
you  that  he  has  so  well-trained  and  so  thoroughly 
organized  a  force  of  militant  supporters  that  con- 
fusion and  final  defeat  will  inevitably  come  to  his 
enemies.  Ask  Uncle  Joe  Cannon  why  he  is  this 
spring  not  enjoying  his  usual  serenity  of  spirit, 
and  he  will  answer  that  the  unfaithful  insurgents 
and  the  dastardly  democrats  have,  to  an  unex- 
pected and  alarming  degree,  organized  their 
forces  against  the  Speaker's  rule. 

Everywhere  this  principle  of  organization  ob- 
tains. The  fundamental  difference  between  life  in 
a  highly  civilized  community  and  life  under  primi- 
tive conditions  is  that  in  the  former,  cooperation 
is  the  law  of  endeavor,  the  result  being  blessings 
to  the  entire  membership  of  the  community,  while 
in  the  latter,  every  man  is  for  himself,  with  the 
usual  result  that  few  there  be  that  fail  to  fall  into 
the  clutches  of  the  Evil  One. 

This  fundamental  principle  holds  with  respect 
to  the  school,  which  is,  in  fact,  the  greatest  busi- 
ness in  the  world,  the  business  of  world-building 


EDUCATIONAL  PRINCIPLES 

itself,  and,  in  order  that  its  results  be  acceptable, 
its  several  forces  must  be  exercised  in  unity  for 
the  accomplishment  of  a  common  purpose. 

Let  us  now  consider,  hastily,  some  important 
principles  of  organization  that  may  be  applied  to 
the  Sunday-school.  In  the  first  place,  the  entire 
membership  of  a  Sunday-school  should  be  enlisted, 
not  for  a  single  campaign,  but  for  the  entire  war. 
A  school  so  organized  as  to  require  that  reorgan- 
ization take  place  weekly  or  monthly  is,  in  fact, 
without  organization,  and  will  waste  its  strength 
and  consume  its  whole  time  in  trying  to  become 
organized,  every  undertaking  in  this  direction  re- 
sulting in  failure. 

This  principle  carries  with  it,  furthermore,  that 
all  the  officers  and  members  will  be  at  their  re- 
spective posts  of  duty  regularly  and  punctually. 
Regularity  and  punctuality  are  two  absolutely 
necessary  virtues  which  should  be  continuously 
manifested,  if  genuine  progress  in  Sunday-school 
work  be  achieved.  Irregularity  of  attendance  on 
the  part  of  pupils  will  surely  beget  not  only  loss 
of  interest,  but  also  ineffectiveness  of  instruction. 
There  is  something  wrong  with  a  boy's  head  if, 
for  example,  during  an  absence  of  two  Sundays, 
he  is  not  able  to  forget  as  much  as  he  learned 
during  a  brief  period  of  thirty  minutes'  instruc- 
tion on  one  Sunday.  Furthermore,  his  absence 
any  one  day  breaks  the  continuity  of  instruction. 
If  he  miss  one  convocation  of  his  class,  it  is  vir- 
tually equivalent  to  missing  at  least  two,  for  he  is 


APPLIED  TO  SUNDAY-SCHOOL    215 

likely  to  be  totally  unprepared  for  the  instruction 
he  ought  to  receive  upon  his  return.  Irregular- 
ity on  the  part  of  teachers  is  about  as  disastrous, 
if  it  be  not  more  disastrous,  than  irregularity  on 
the  part  of  pupils,  for  the  continuous  change  of 
teachers  is  no  more  to  be  commended  than  is  the 
continuous  change  of  mothers.  Our  Sunday- 
schools  need  to  be  taught  this  lesson, — that  teach- 
ing Sunday-school  or  attending  Sunday-school  is 
a  business  which  should  be  administered  in  a  busi- 
nesslike way.  The  motto  of  all  Sunday-school 
workers  should  be  what  I  once  heard  the  great 
Bishop  Galloway  say  should  be  the  rallying  cry 
of  the  Methodist  Church,  "All  at  it,  and  at  it  all 
the  time." 

Again,  a  Sunday-school  ought  not  to  be  a  mob, 
and  its  work  should  not  be  planned  along  the  lines 
of  mob-development.  Its  pupils  should  be  divided 
into  classes  of  reasonable  size,  for  it  is  impos- 
sible to  teach  children  en  masse.  Regimental 
movements  are  advisable  in  military  manoeuver- 
ing;  but  in  teaching  it  is  the  mind  of  the  indi- 
vidual child  that  must  be  taught. 

Each  class  should,  furthermore,  have  a  conven- 
ient and  comfortable  place  in  which  to  receive  in- 
struction. It  is  not  too  much  to  add  that  it 
should  be  a  reasonably  quiet  place.  It  is  for  this 
reason  that  in  our  public  schools  classes  are  in- 
structed in  separate  rooms,  and  it  is  a  distinct 
gain  in  the  organization  of  any  Sunday-school 
when,  instead  of  having  all  the  classes  heard  in 


216        EDUCATIONAL  PRINCIPLES 

one  immense  amphitheater,  there  are  provided  as 
many  separate  places  of  instruction  as  there  are 
groups  of  pupils  to  be  instructed. 

Another  principle  of  organization  is  that  pu- 
pils should  be  grouped  according  to  their  ability 
to  receive  instruction.  In  other  words,  the  Sun- 
day-school must  be  graded  if  it  is  to  be  anything 
more  than  a  mere  assembly  in  which  children  and 
adults  spend  a  rather  dreary  and  unprofitable 
hour  every  Lord's-day.  It  does  not  take  a  peda- 
gogic expert  to  understand  the  force  of  this  con- 
tention. Any  intelligent  man  in  a  Texas  com- 
munity would  consider  a  school  superintendent 
a  fit  subject  for  the  insane  asylum  if  that  edu- 
cational leader  should  so  organize  the  schools  un- 
der his  supervision  as  to  assign  to  each  of  his 
teachers  pupils  of  widely  varying  degrees  of  ad- 
vancement, some  being  in  the  primary,  others  in 
the  grammar  school,  and  others  in  the  high-school 
stage  of  thinking. 

Here  I  am  led  to  remark  that  the  minister  of 
the  gospel  is  entitled  to  our  deepest  sympathy 
and  broadest  charity,  for  every  time  he  preaches, 
he  must  speak  to  an  audience  composed  of  indi- 
viduals who  differ  widely  in  intellect,  and,  if  pos- 
sible, even  more  widely  in  moral  development  and 
spiritual  needs.  This  accounts  for  the  fact  that 
it  takes  so  long  a  time  to  convert  the  sinners  of 
this  world.  Millions  of  sermons  have  been 
preached  in  Texas,  alone,  sermons  enough  to  have 
converted  the  habitable  globe;  but  I  am  per- 


APPLIED  TO  SUNDAY-SCHOOL    217 

suaded  from  some  remarks  that  have  been  made 
about  life  in  this  city,  that  even  in  San  Antonio 
one  could,  without  great  difficulty,  find  perhaps  as 
many  as  one  or  two  unconverted  heathen. 

Another  important  problem  connected  with  the 
grading  of  the  Sunday-school  is  the  course  of 
study.  This  problem  is  of  the  very  greatest  dif- 
ficulty, for  the  selection  of  culture-materials  to 
be  used  in  religious  education  demands  even 
greater  care  and  more  delicate  insight  than  does 
the  choosing  of  culture-materials  to  be  employed 
in  secular  education. 

Much  study  and  some  progress  have  already  been 
made  in  formulating  a  rational  course  of  study 
for  the  Sunday-schooL  It  is  now  very  generally 
agreed  that  the  lesson-materials  shall  be  so  graded 
in  difficulty  as  to  be  adapted  to  the  varying  de- 
grees of  the  capacities  of  the  pupils.  It  is  cer- 
tain that  this  course  of  study  should  not  be  domi- 
nated by  the  theological  idea,  for  in  neither  child- 
hood nor  youth  are  one's  powers  sufficiently  de- 
veloped for  him  to  grapple  with  abstract  philo- 
sophical problems.  The  Sunday-school  should 
never  seek  to  become  a  theological  seminary.  While 
none  of  us  would  endorse  Rousseau's  contention 
that  the  child,  up  to  the  age  of  fifteen  years, 
should  have  no  religious  education,  that  he  should 
not  even  know  he  has  a  soul,  and  perhaps  at  the 
age  of  eighteen  he  is  not  yet  ready  to  receive 
such  instruction,  yet  it  is  a  fact  that  the  cul- 
tivation of  religious  precocity  is  as  dangerous  as 


218        EDUCATIONAL  PRINCIPLES 

that  of  physical  or  intellectual  precocity.  The 
old  adage,  which  is  an  expression  of  the  instinc- 
tive judgment  of  the  race,  "The  good  die  young," 
should  not  be  forgotten  by  those  who  formulate 
Sunday-school  courses  of  study. 

It  is  not  every  portion  of  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
even,  that  is  suitable  for  every  grade  of  pupil. 
The  very  highest  pedagogic  art  is  involved  in 
choosing  out  from  the  vast  materials  found  in  the 
sixty-six  books  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  those  por- 
tions which,  when  joined  together  and  successfully 
mastered  by  the  pupil  as  he  advances  from  grade 
to  grade,  will  furnish  a  respectable  knowledge  of 
the  Bible,  and  will  reveal  to  him,  in  clearness  and 
simplicity,  the  fundamental  truths  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion.  I  repeat  it  is  the  grading  of  this 
material  that  calls  for  the  highest  order  of  peda- 
gogic insight  and  skill.  The  Bible  was  primarily 
written  for  adults,  and  it  would  be  as  reasonable 
to  expect  that  a  child  understand  Shakespeare  as 
that  he  comprehend  the  Bible  as  a  whole.  This 
leads  me  to  commend  what  is  the  practice  now  with 
some  of  the  authors  of  graded  Sunday-school  les- 
sons, the  correlating  of  suitable  materials,  both 
of  verse  and  prose,  found  in  literature  outside  of 
the  Bible.  Especially  is  this  practice  desirable,  if 
not  positively  necessary,  in  connection  with  the 
instruction  of  the  primary  grades,  and  there  is 
good  reason  for  believing  that  such  a  policy  is 
wise  for  every  grade,  even  the  highest. 

In  the  literature  of  our  own  language  there  is 


APPLIED  TO  SUNDAY-SCHOOL     219 

a  multitude  of  beautiful  productions  breathing 
forth  the  loftiest  Christian  sentiment.  Let  me 
give  an  example  or  two.  In  connection  with  any 
one  of  a  number  of  Bible  lessons  in  which  is  shown 
the  beauty  and  worth  of  service,  effective  use  could 
be  made  of  the  following  simple  verses : 

WHAT   CHRIST   SAID 

"I  said,  'Let  me  walk  in  the  fields/ 

He  said,  'No,  walk  in  the  town/ 
I  said,  'There  are  no  flowers  there/ 

He  said,  'No  flowers,  but  a  crown/ 

"I  said,  'But  the  skies  are  black, — 
There  is  nothing  but  noise  and  din/ 

And  he  wept  as  he  sent  me  back; 

'There  is  more/  he  said,  'there  is  sin/ 

"I  said,  'But  the  air  is  thick, 

And  fogs  are  veiling  the  sun/ 
He  answered,  'Yet  souls  are  sick, 

And  souls  in  the  dark  undone/ 

"I  pleaded  for  time  to  be  given; 

He  said,  'Is  it  hard  to  decide? 
It  will  not  seem  hard  in  heaven 

To  have  followed  the  steps  of  your  guide/  " 

Again,  in  teaching  the  lesson  of  confidence  in 
God  as  set  forth  in  the  life  of  the  patriarch  Job, 
his  sublime  declaration,  "Though  He  slay  me,  yet 
will  I  trust  Him,"  could  be  reinforced  by  Tenny- 


220        EDUCATIONAL  PRINCIPLES 

son's  "Crossing  the  Bar,"  the  last  two  stanzas  of 
which  read  thus: 


"Twilight  and  evening  bell, 

And  after  that  the  dark ! 
And  may  there  be  no  sadness  of  farewell 

When  I  embark. 

"For  tho*  from  out  our  bourne  of  Time  and  Place 

The  flood  may  bear  me  far, 
I  hope  to  see  my  pilot  face-to-face 

When  I  have  crossed  the  bar." 

Another  principle  of  organization  which  cannot, 
with  safety,  be  overlooked,  is  that  the  teachers 
of  the  Sunday-school  must,  themselves,  be  so 
organized  as  to  ensure  continuous  training  of  a 
professionally  pedagogic  character.  The  super- 
intendent and  other  officers  are  important  func- 
tionaries ;  but  the  real  heart  of  every  school  con- 
sists of  its  staff  of  teachers.  There  is,  in  our 
country  to-day,  no  city  which  does  not  make  pro- 
vision for  the  regular  meetings  of  teachers  em- 
ployed in  its  public  schools.  In  our  secular 
schools  we  have  learned  that  it  is  the  special  func- 
tion of  those  charged  with  organization  and  ad- 
ministration to  help  poor  teachers  become  good 
teachers,  and  good  teachers  better  teachers.  The 
plain  and  simple  truth  that  the  teacher  must  be 
growing  professionally  as  long  as  he  teaches,  is 
one  that  our  Sunday-schools,  I  am  happy  to  say, 
are  beginning  to  appreciate,  and  it  is  safe  to 


APPLIED  TO  SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

prophesy  that  some  day  the  men  and  women 
charged  with  the  responsible  duties  of  teaching 
the  children  of  our  land  the  most  difficult  of  all 
the  subjects  to  be  taught,  will  be  thoroughly 
equipped  for  their  great  work. 

II.    INSTRUCTION 

The  second  great  law,  which,  for  want  of  time, 
must  be  dismissed  with  few  words,  may  be  formu- 
lated in  these  words :  Instruction  in  the  Sunday- 
school,  to  be  efficient,  must  be  characterized  by 
rational  method. 

If  reason  and  revelation  teach  us  anything,  it 
is  that  we  are  living  in  a  universe  governed  by 
law.  This  truth  men  recognize  in  the  practical 
affairs  of  life, — in  agriculture,  in  commerce,  in 
the  practice  of  all  professions  and  trades. 
Surely  teaching  in  the  Sunday-school  should  not 
be  regarded  as  a  haphazard,  lawless  affair.  Com- 
mon-sense philosophy  requires  that  we  use  method 
in  education,  just  as  in  the  other  affairs  of  life, 
for  as  Laurie  has  pointed  out,  when  philosophy  is 
directed  to  the  study  of  education,  it  simply  in- 
quires as  to  the  ends  of  human  life,  and  seeks 
to  find  out  and  evaluate  the  processes  by  which 
these  ends  may  be  achieved.  This  work  is  nothing 
more  or  less  than  the  finding  out  of  the  method 
for  the  realization  of  human  progress. 

Within  the  last  half  century  this  subject  of 
method  in  teaching  has  been  studied  by  many  con- 
scientious, thoughtful  men  and  women,  and  method 


£££        EDUCATIONAL  PRINCIPLES 

has  been  placed  upon  a  scientific  basis,  some  laws 
of  method  having  been  firmly  established.  At- 
tention is  now  directed  to  a  brief  survey  of  only 
five  of  these  laws. 

1.  In  the  mind  of  the  teacher,  and  also  in  the 
mind  of  the  pupil,  there  must  be  a  well-defined 
purpose.     Aimless  work  of  any  kind  is  barren  of 
desirable  results.     It  begins   anywhere  and  ends 
nowhere. 

2.  The  mind  of  the  pupil  must  be  prepared 
for  the  reception  of  new  truth  by  calling  to  the 
threshold  of  his   consciousness  old  ideas   related 
thereto.     This,  among  psychologists,  is  known  as 
the  law  of  apperception,  a  law  which  the  greatest 
teacher  of  the  world  continuously  exemplified  in 
his  ministry. 

3.  The  content  of  the  things  taught  must  have 
inherent  elements  of  interest  to  the  learner.     The 
greatest  of  all  pedagogic  sins  is  the  sin  of  weari- 
ness   and    dreariness.     The    individuals    and   the 
groups  taught  by  Jesus  of  Nazareth  heard  him 
gladly.     This  law  the  late  evangelist,  Sam  Jones, 
thoroughly  understood  and  practiced.     You  re- 
member that  he  would  occasionally,  at  the  close 
of   a   service,   make   some   such   remark   as   this : 
"Now,  I  am  going  to  preach  a  sermon  to-morrow 
night,  to  men  only.     Come  out  and  hear  me,  Bud, 
and  I'll  promise  you  anything  but  a  dull  time." 

4.  General,  or  abstract,  truth  must  be  worked 
out  inductively  by  the  learner  himself.     To  state 
it  another  way,  the  study  of  individual  notions 


APPLIED  TO  SUNDAY-SCHOOL 

must  precede  the  mastery  of  general  notions. 
This  law,  also,  was  one  from  which  the  Savior  did 
not  depart.  For  example,  when  the  Scribes  and 
Pharisees  upon  one  occasion  murmured,  saying, 
"This  man  receiveth  sinners  and  eateth  with  them," 
he  gave  his  answer  in  three  parables,  each  repre- 
senting in  concrete  form  the  general  truth  which 
he  sought  to  establish.  The  first  of  these  para- 
bles was  that  of  the  lost  sheep;  the  second,  the 
parable  of  the  lost  money;  and  the  third,  the 
parable  of  the  prodigal  son.  Once,  twice,  and 
thrice,  in  this  vivid,  concrete  way,  did  he  enforce 
the  truth  that  he  came  to  call  sinners,  not  right- 
eous men,  to  repentance. 

5.  The  glory  of  the  human  spirit,  its  power 
and  its  majesty,  are  unfolded  by  its  own  self-ac- 
tivity. Here  again  did  Jesus  manifest  obedience 
to  pedagogic  law.  Again  and  again,  in  his  con- 
troversies with  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  and  in 
his  conversations  in  public  and  in  private,  his 
direct  personal  appeals  and  his  thought-provoking 
questions  clearly  evidenced  the  fact  that  he  sought 
to  stir  up  the  intelligence,  quicken  the  emotions, 
and  affect  the  will  of  those  he  was  endeavoring  to 
teach.  The  mere  memorizing  of  the  text  of  the 
Sunday-school  lesson  and  of  verses  of  Scripture, 
if  not  intelligently  done,  may,  in  itself,  contribute 
to  arrested  religious  development.  The  child's  na- 
ture demands  that  he  understand,  at  least  to  some 
degree,  what  he  is  called  upon  to  learn. 

This  attribute  of  our  nature  is  certainly  taught 


EDUCATIONAL  PRINCIPLES 

by  the  Christian  religion,  which,  above  all  other 
religions,  lays  emphasis  upon  the  integrity  and 
the  responsibility  of  the  individual.  Our  religion 
teaches  us  that  every  human  being  is  the  child  of 
God,  who  is  the  center  and  source  of  all  activity. 
Any  one,  therefore,  who  seeks  to  enslave  the  in- 
dividual who  shares  in  this  self-active  nature  of 
God  himself,  not  only  destroys  individual  prog- 
ress, but  also  hinders  the  growth  of  Christianity, 
as  well.  Instead  of  placing  an  embargo  on  inde- 
pendent thinking,  we  should  put  a  premium 
thereon. 

This  leads  me  to  say  that  the  Sunday-school 
teacher  should  not  be  too  eager  for  his  pupils  to 
subscribe  to  denominational  doctrines,  many  of 
which  it  is  difficult  for  even  the  educated  mind 
to  comprehend.  This  is  certainly  true,  because 
among  men  of  most  superior  education  and  of  un- 
questioned godliness  there  is  great  variety  of  be- 
lief. Now,  in  God's  own  good  time,  through  the 
conflicts  of  controversies,  through  the  research  of 
students,  and  through  the  toil  and  the  prayers  of 
devout  men  hoping  for  Christian  union,  there  may 
be  evolved  a  system  of  religion  which  will  be  uni- 
versally acceptable.  Certainly  that  day  is  yet  in 
the  future,  and  no  one  can,  without  dogmatism, 
seek  to  circumscribe  the  thought  and  bind  the  con- 
science of  his  fellows.  It  is,  therefore,  unwise, 
if  not  un-Christian,  to  attempt  to  bias  the  minds 
of  the  children  of  this  generation  in  favor  of,  or 
in  opposition  to,  the  minor  dogmas  which  divide 


APPLIED  TO  SUNDAY-SCHOOL    225 

the  children  of  God.  To  do  so  is  to  violate  the 
law  of  method  we  have  just  now  been  considering, 
and  is  to  rob  these  children  of  an  opportunity  to 
contribute  in  the  best  way  to  the  progress  of 
Christianity.  The  fundamental  ideas  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven,  as  taught  by  our  Savior  him- 
self, it  seems  to  me  are  enough  to  emphasize,  cer- 
tainly with  the  children  in  the  lower  grades  of 
the  Sunday-school.  These  fundamental  notions 
are  embodied  in  the  two  great  commandments  upon 
which  Christ  has  said  hang  all  the  law  and  the 
prophets,  the  first  being  the  commandment  to  love 
God,  and  the  second  being  the  commandment  to 
love  one's  fellows.  Around  these  two  great  doc- 
trines can  be  correlated  an  untold  wealth  of  les- 
sons, which  will  reveal  to  our  children  the  beauty 
and  the  power  of  the  life  which  the  Great  Teacher 
would  have  us  live. 

III.    CONCLUSION 

Great  are  the  labors  involved  in  the  organiza- 
tion and  the  teaching  of  Sunday-schools.  The 
problems  are  as  numerous  and  difficult  as  those 
relating  to  any  other  field  of  thought.  We  should 
not  be  impatient  of  results.  The  lesson  taught  us 
by  the  Savior  in  the  parable  of  the  tares  should 
make  us  willing  to  work  in  the  midst  of  purposes 
only  partly  wrought  out;  but,  while  our  spirits 
may  be  willing  to  wait  for  the  final  fruits  of  our 
hopes,  we  should  determine  that  every  year  at  least 
some  progress  shall  be  made.  As  a  bit  of  concrete 


EDUCATIONAL  PRINCIPLES 

suggestion  of  this  truth,  and  as  a  means  of  inspi- 
ration and  encouragement  to  Sunday-school  work- 
ers, I  close  this  address  with  the  following  mod- 
ern parable,  printed  in  the  Century  Magazine 
some  years  ago: 

AN  OUTLINE 

"A  boy  went  to  school.  He  was  very  little.  All 
that  he  knew  he  had  drawn  in  with  his  mother's  milk. 
His  teacher  (who  was  God)  placed  him  in  the  lowest 
class  and  gave  him  these  lessons  to  learn:  'Thou 
shalt  not  kill.  Thou  shalt  do  no  hurt  to  any  living 
thing.  Thou  shalt  not  steal/  So  the  man  did  not 
kill;  but  he  was  cruel,  and  he  stole.  At  the  end  of 
the  day  (when  his  beard  was  gray,  when  the  night 
was  come)  his  teacher  (who  was  God)  said:  'Thou  hast 
learned  not  to  kill,  but  the  other  lessons  thou  hast  not 
learned.  Come  back  to-morrow.' 

"On  the  morrow  he  came  back  a  little  boy.  And 
his  teacher  (who  was  God)  put  him  in  a  class  a  lit- 
tle higher,  and  gave  him  these  lessons  to  learn:  'Thou 
shalt  do  no  hurt  to  any  living  thing.  Thou  shalt  not 
steal.  Thou  shalt  not  cheat.'  So  the  man  did  no 
hurt  to  any  living  thing;  but  he  stole,  and  he  cheated. 
And  at  the  end  of  the  day  (when  his  beard  was  gray, 
when  the  night  was  come)  his  teacher  (who  was  God) 
said:  'Thou  hast  learned  to  be  merciful,  but  the  other 
lessons  thou  hast  not  learned.  Come  back  to-mor- 
row.' 

"Again,  on  the  morrow,  he  came  back,  a  little  boy. 
And  his  teacher  (who  was  God)  put  him  in  a  class 
yet  a  little  higher,  and  gave  him  these  lessons  to 
learn:  'Thou  shalt  not  steal.  Thou  shalt  not  cheat. 


APPLIED  TO  SUNDAY-SCHOOL    227 

Thou  shalt  not  covet/  So  the  man  did  not  steal ;  but 
he  cheated,  and  he  coveted.  And  at  the  end  of  the 
day  (when  his  beard  was  gray,  when  the  night  was 
come)  his  teacher  (who  was  God)  said:  'Thou  hast 
learned  not  to  steal;  but  the  other  lessons  thou  hast 
not  learned.  Come  back,  my  child,  to-morrow.' 

"This  is  what  I  have  read  in  the  faces  of  men  and 
women,  in  the  book  of  the  world,  and  in  the  scroll 
of  the  heavens,  which  is  writ  with  stars." 


XII 

THE  EDUCATION  OF  THE  SOUTHERN 
NEGRO 1 

The  theme  assigned  me  is  so  broad  and  so  com- 
plex as  to  make  impossible  its  thorough  discussion 
within  the  time-limits  which  this  occasion  affords. 
The  solution  of  the  problem  of  negro  education 
involves  to  a  greater  or  a  less  degree  the  study  of 
every  important  phase  of  the  whole  realm  of  hu- 
man development.  Already  abundant  literature 
which  treats  of  the  subject  is  available.  Some  of 
it  is  the  result  of  careful  and  unprejudiced  think- 
ing; much  of  it,  however,  has  been  evolved  from 
the  inner  consciousness  of  ill-informed  and  pas- 
sionately biased  partisans.  The  summary  and 
evaluation  of  the  magazine  articles,  books,  pam- 
phlets, reports  and  special  studies  would  alone  af- 
ford a  task  too  large  to  be  treated  in  even  a  volume 
of  cyclopedic  proportions.  I  shall,  therefore,  con- 
fine this  paper,  first,  to  a  brief  historical  survey, 
and,  second,  to  a  still  more  hasty  presentation  of 
some  important  principles  to  control  the  education 
which  the  negro  has  a  right  to  enjoy,  and  which 
should  be  guaranteed  him  by  the  Southern  white 
man  with  whom  his  lot  is  cast. 

1  A  paper,  a  part  of  which  was  read  in  Houston,  Texas, 
December  1,  1911,  before  the  Southern  Educational  Associa- 
tion. 


THE  SOUTHERN  NEGRO  229 

I.    HISTORICAL  SURVEY 

The  education  of  negroes  in  our  section  of  the 
country  began  long  before  the  Revolutionary 
War,  when  they  were  brought  as  slaves  into  the 
Southern  Colonies.  Not  a  few  of  them  were 
taught  to  read  and  to  write  by  Southern  white 
women  and  children,  many  a  wife  of  a  slave-owner 
taking  an  unfeigned  interest  in  this  philanthropic 
work.  It  has  been  estimated  that,  about  the  time 
of  the  opening  of  the  Civil  War,  ten  per  cent,  of 
the  adult  slaves  had,  by  the  benevolent  offices  of 
their  white  owners,  been  elevated  out  of  the  class 
of  illiterates. 

Instruction  was  not  confined  solely  to  secular 
subjects,  as  lessons  in  the  Sacred  Scriptures  and 
the  Christian  religion,  both  practical  and  theoret- 
ical, were  quite  common.  A  celebrated  man  en- 
gaged in  this  form  of  benevolence  was  Thomas 
J.  Jackson,  who  was  elected  in  1851  professor  of 
natural  philosophy  and  artillery  tactics  in  the 
Virginia  Military  Institute.  While  serving  in  this 
capacity  he  also  founded,  and  conducted  until  the 
opening  of  the  Civil  War,  a  Sunday-school,  the 
pupils  consisting  of  negro  slaves  of  all  ages.  The 
founder  served  as  superintendent,  and  the  work  of 
the  school  was  carried  forward  with  the  same  grave 
enthusiasm  and  orderly  efficiency  as  subsequently 
characterized  the  management  of  his  great  mili- 
tary campaigns  in  Virginia. 

Negroes  who  had  obtained  their  freedom,  either 


230  THE  EDUCATION  OF 

by  gift  or  by  purchase,  enjoyed  educational  priv- 
ileges to  an  even  greater  degree.  It  is  true  that, 
after  the  Revolutionary  War  and  after  the  adop- 
tion of  the  Constitution  and  the  establishment  of 
the  national  government,  there  existed  in  some  of 
the  Southern  states  statutory  provisions  against 
the  education  of  negroes,  even  free  negroes.  To 
cite  one  example:  Mrs.  Margaret  Douglass,  who 
lived  in  Norfolk,  Virginia,  was,  in  1853,  arrested 
for  teaching  a  school  attended  by  free  negro  chil- 
dren, the  offense  being  "against  the  peace  and 
dignity  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Virginia."  Be- 
ing duly  tried,  she  was  convicted,  and  a  sentence 
of  thirty  days'  imprisonment  was  imposed  upon 
her,  a  punishment  which  the  trial  judge  declared 
was  to  "serve  as  a  terror  to  those  who  acknowl- 
edged no  rule  of  action  but  their  own  evil  will  and 
pleasure."  Nevertheless,  these  statutory  enact- 
ments denying  the  privileges  of  schooling  to  the 
negroes,  did  not  arrest  the  development  of  the 
black  race  in  the  South.  Everywhere  education 
along  many  vocational  lines  was  compulsory.  The 
negro  was  taught  to  speak,  and  in  many  instances 
to  read  and  to  write  the  English  language,  and  not 
infrequently  his  conversation  with  his  white  mas- 
ter was  directed  along  lines  both  wholesome  and 
stimulating.  He  was  permitted,  and  even  encour- 
aged, to  exchange  the  traditions  of  African  su- 
perstition for  the  inspiring  truths  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  and  to  become  acquainted  with  the 
English  Bible,  the  greatest  of  the  world's  classics. 


THE  SOUTHERN  NEGRO  231 

When  it  is  remembered  that  the  great  part, 
and  the  more  substantial  part,  of  education  con- 
sists in  doing,  rather  than  in  knowing,  in  the  for- 
mation of  right  habits  rather  than  in  the  memo- 
rizing of  mere  word-forms,  one  easily  reaches  the 
conclusion  that  the  educational  regimen  of  the 
negro  prior  to  the  Civil  War  produced  splendid 
results,  arming  him  with  the  intelligence  and  the 
power  that  come  from  the  mastery  of  various 
forms  of  industrial  activity,  and  endowing  him 
with  the  elemental  habits  of  civilized  society. 
That  these  were  bona-fide  results  is  sufficiently  evi- 
denced by  the  fact  that,  so  far  as  I  am  informed, 
during  the  Civil  War,  when  the  white  men  of  the 
South  able  to  bear  arms  were  away  from  their 
homes,  and  when  their  families  were  left  to  the 
care  of  the  slaves,  not  one  instance  of  arson  or 
other  heinous  crime  was  charged  against  these 
faithful  servants.  The  truth  is  that  the  system 
of  slavery  which  obtained  in  the  South  was  as  be- 
nign as  was  ever  known  among  men,  and,  while 
there  were  some  exceptions,  the  rule  was  that  mas- 
ter and  servant  occupied  not  only  that  relation, 
but  the  relation  of  friends,  also.  This  view  is 
illustrated  in  a  recent  novel,  "The  Long  Roll," 
written  by  Mary  Johnston.  In  describing  a  short 
visit  of  a  Confederate  soldier  to  his  home  just 
after  the  fight  of  the  Monitor  and  the  Merrimac, 
the  author  relates  that  the  soldier's  black  mammy 
met  him  at  the  top  of  the  steps,  exclaiming,  "Oh, 
my  lamb!  oh,  glory  hallelujah!  What  you  doin' 


THE  EDUCATION  OF 

wid  dem  wohnout  cloes  an'  yo'  sh'ut  tohn  dat-er- 
way?  What  dey  been  doin'  ter  you — dat's  what  I 
wants  ter  know?  My  po'  lamb!  Mars  Edward, 
don'  you  laugh  kaze  mammy  done  fergit  you  ain' 
'er  baby  still."  And  then  the  novelist  adds,  with  a 
touch  true  to  nature,  "Edward  hugged  her,  and  re- 
marked, 'One  night  in  the  trenches  not  long  ago  I 
heard  you  singing,  mammy.  I  could  not  sleep, 
and  at  last  I  said  I'll  put  my  head  in  mammy's 
lap,  and  she'll  sing  me  "The  Buzzards  and  the 
Butterflies,"  and  I  will  go  to  sleep.  I  did  it,  and 
I  went  off  like  a  baby.' "  2 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  sins  of  the  Old 
South — and  every  well-informed  Southerner  is 
now  willing  to  confess  at  least  some  of  them,  and 
that,  too,  without  any  degree  of  disloyalty — her 
development  of  the  negro  slaves,  as  described 
above,  is  convincing  evidence  of  her  intelligence 
and  philanthropy.  In  those  old  days  the  love  of 
money,  which  is  the  root  of  more  than  one  grievous 
evil,  had  certainly  not  taken  possession  of  our 
fathers,  and  had  not  blinded  them  to  the  discharge 
of  their  duties  toward  a  race  which,  in  the  Provi- 
dence of  God,  had  been  placed  in  their  keeping. 

During  the  Civil  War  the  education  of  the  ne- 
gro, as  well  as  of  the  white,  children,  was  sadly 
interrupted.  Nevertheless,  his  experience  in  car- 
ing for  his  master's  family  and  property  confirmed 
some  habits  the  negro  had  already  acquired. 

2  "The  Long  Roll,"  p.  176. 


THE  SOUTHERN  NEGRO  233 

There  were,  furthermore,  philanthropic  people  in 
the  North  who  established  some  schools  for  ne- 
groes who  had  refugeed  to  Union  camps,  and  the 
United  States  Government  also  established  schools 
more  or  less  effectively  in  various  places,  and  pro- 
vided the  means  for  conducting  them.  They  were, 
at  best,  most  elementary  in  their  nature,  and  were 
administered  without  either  expert  teaching  or 
supervision.  When  a  people  are  engaged  in  a 
mighty  military  struggle,  one  can  not  expect  that 
serious  attention  will  be  given  to  consideration  of 
plans  for  the  promotion  of  educational  progress. 
Napoleon  remarked  on  one  occasion  when  the  Swiss 
educator,  Pestalozzi,  was  seeking  an  interview  with 
the  great  First  Consul,  "I  cannot  be  bothered 
about  questions  of  A  B  C."  3 

Inspired  by  the  efforts  of  the  Emancipation 
League  of  Boston  and  by  other  f  reedman's  aid  as- 
sociations, Congress,  on  March. 3,  1865,  passed 
the  bill  which  established  the  Freedman's  Bureau. 
Gen.  Oliver  O.  Howard,  the  commander  of  the 
Army  of  Tennessee,  was  appointed  Commissioner, 
and,  in  compliance  with  the  statute,  he  appointed 
ten  assistant  commissioners,  who  severally  had 

3  On  his  return  to  Switzerland  Pestalozzi  was  asked, 
"Did  you  see  Bonaparte?"  "No,"  replied  Pestalozzi,  "I 
did  not  see  Bonaparte,  and  Bonaparte  did  not  see  me." 
Concerning  this  circumstance  Quick,  in  his  "Educational 
Reformers"  (page  343),  writes:  "The  whirligig  of  time 
brings  in  his  revenges,  and  before  the  close  of  the  century 
Europe  already  thinks  more  in  amount,  and  immeasurably 
more  in  respect  of  Pestalozzi  than  of  Bonaparte." 


THE  EDUCATION  OF 

charge  of  the  ten  districts  into  which  the  South 
was  divided.  Among  these  assistant  commission- 
ers was  Col.  John  Eaton  Jr.  (afterwards  United 
States  Commissioner  of  Education),  who  had 
charge  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  including 
Maryland  and  three  counties  in  Virginia.  At  first 
Arkansas  and  Texas  constituted  one  district ;  but 
somewhat  later  Texas  became  a  separate  district, 
and  Gen.  E.  M.  Gregory  was  appointed  Assistant 
Commissioner  therefor.  In  his  honor  a  school  for 
negro  pupils  was  founded  in  Houston,  Texas,  and 
was  named  the  Gregory  Institute. 

General  Howard  was  a  man  of  excellent  char- 
acter. While  he  was  faithful  to  the  doctrine  of 
emancipation,  and  while  he  believed  that  the  negro 
is  capable  of  improvement,  he  could  by  no  means 
be  classed  among  the  ultra-radical  abolitionists  of 
his  time.  He  had  the  confidence  of  military  men 
and  of  philanthropic  associations.  Concerning 
him  General  Sherman  said,  "I  cannot  imagine  that 
matters  that  may  involve  the  future  of  four  mil- 
lions of  souls  could  have  been  put  in  more  chari- 
table or  more  benevolent  hands."  4 

The  work  of  the  Bureau  was  divided  into  four 
departments:  (1)  Land;  (2)  Official  acts  relat- 
ing to  labor,  schools,  quartermaster  and  commis- 
sary supplies;  (3)  Financial  matters;  (4)  Medi- 
cal and  hospital  service.  The  educational  func- 

4  Paul  Skeels  Pierce's  "The  Freedman's  Bureau,"  Vol. 
S,  No.  1,  p.  47,  State  University  of  Iowa,  Studies  in  Soci- 
ology, Economics,  Politics  and  History. 


THE  SOUTHERN  NEGRO  235 

tions  of  the  Bureau  were  under  the  general  direc- 
tion of  a  special  officer  in  Washington ;  but  the  ten 
assistant  commissioners  appointed  superintendents 
of  education  to  supervise  the  schools  of  their  re- 
spective districts. 

When  the  Bureau  was  established,  there  were 
already  in  existence  some  schools  attended  by 
freedmen  and  refugees.  Some  of  them  were  day 
schools  for  the  younger  negro  children;  others 
were  night  schools,  in  which  older  boys  and  girls, 
as  well  as  adults,  were  instructed.  There  were  also 
some  industrial  schools,  in  which  women  were  in- 
structed as  seamstresses,  and  Sunday-schools,  in 
which  the  elements  of  secular  and  religious  educa- 
tion were  taught.  The  Bureau  sought  to  co- 
operate with  the  individuals  and  the  benevolent  as- 
sociations by  whom  these  schools  had  been 
founded. 

Still  greater  powers  relating  to  education  were 
given  to  the  Bureau  by  the  act  of  July  16,  1866, 
the  Commissioner  being  directed  to  lease  buildings 
for  school  purposes  whenever  teachers  and  means 
of  instruction  could  be  provided  without  cost  to 
the  government,  and  he  was  to  furnish  such  pro- 
tection as  might  be  required  for  the  safe  conduct 
of  these  schools.  Congress  appropriated  $521,- 
000.00  for  school  expenses,  and  also  provided  ad- 
ditional funds  to  be  derived  from  the  sale  and 
lease  of  property  which  had  formerly  belonged  to 
the  Confederate  Government,  but  which  the  United 
States  had  acquired  by  confiscation  or  otherwise. 


236  THE  EDUCATION  OF 

Another  act,  passed  June  24,  1868,  directed  that 
all  unexpended  balances  in  the  hands  of  the  Com- 
missioner, not  required  for  the  due  execution  of 
the  law,  might,  in  his  discretion,  be  devoted  to 
the  education  of  freedmen  and  refugees. 

In  1872  the  Bureau  was  abolished  by  law;  its 
work  had  ceased  to  be  effective  in  1870,  the  last 
year  for  which  Congress  granted  it  an  appropria- 
tion. In  the  year  last  named  the  Bureau  received 
reports  from  2,677  day  and  night  secular  schools, 
in  which  were  3,300  teachers  and  about  150,000 
pupils,  and  from  1,562  Sunday-schools  with  6,007 
teachers  and  about  100,000  pupils. 

It  is  easy  to  demonstrate  that  the  efforts  of  the 
Commissioner  and  his  subordinates  to  educate  the 
negroes  in  the  South  were  far  from  successful. 
The  greater  part  of  the  instruction  given  was 
confined  to  exceedingly  elementary  phases  of  edu- 
cation, and  the  instruction,  itself,  was  too  often 
decidedly  poor  in  quality.  The  negro  scholastic 
population  in  the  South  in  1870  was  nearly  1,700,- 
000,  while  only  about  150,000  were  in  the  secular 
schools.  With  less  than  one-tenth  of  the  chil- 
dren at  school,  with  almost  the  entire  adult  negro 
population  grossly  ignorant,  with  teachers  ill-pre- 
pared for  their  duties,  the  education  of  the  negro 
was  in  an  exceedingly  crude,  not  to  say  lamentable, 
condition.  In  this  connection,  however,  one  should 
not  forget  that  the  ravages  of  war  and  the  even 
more  grievous  afflictions  visited  upon  tHe  South 
during  the  days  of  Reconstruction,  made  it  well- 


THE  SOUTHERN  NEGRO  237 

nigh  impossible  to  establish  an  efficient  system  of 
public  education  for  her  white  children,  not  to 
speak  of  the  children  of  the  former  slaves. 

Dr.  J.  L.  M.  Curry,  who  was  a  valiant  Confed- 
erate soldier,  who  was  for  many  years  general 
agent  of  the  trustees  of  the  Peabody  fund,  who 
was  the  consistent  and  courageous  friend  of  the 
negro,  and  whose  name  is  a  household  word  in 
educational  circles  in  the  South,  thus  sums  up 
the  value  of  the  educational  work  of  the  Bureau  : 

"What  was  done  locally  and  individually  was  al- 
most universally  short-lived  and  in  utter  misapprehen- 
sion of  conditions  and  methods."  5 

The  same  mistake  was  made  in  education  as  in 
the  political  treatment  of  the  South  —  the  powers 
in  control  overlooked  the  fact  that  the  first  in- 
dispensable requirement  for  success  in  any  social 
undertaking  is  a  thorough  understanding  of  the 
conditions  that  obtain.  On  this  point  Booker  T. 
Washington,  one  of  the  really  great  leaders  of  his 
race,  remarks: 

"Men  have  tried  to  use  with  these  simple  people 
just  freed  from  slavery  and  with  no  past,  no  inherited 
traditions  of  understanding,  the  same  methods  of  edu- 
cation which  they  have  used  in  New  England,  with  all 
its  inherited  traditions  and  desires/'  6 


Skeels   Pierce's   "The  Freedman's   Bureau,"   Vol. 
3,  No.  1,  p.  84,  State  University  of  Iowa,  Studies  in  Soci- 
ology, Economics,  Politics  and  History. 
«  "Future  of  the  American  Negro,"  p.  25. 


238  THE  EDUCATION  OF 

The  Bureau  should  surely  not  be  held  entirely 
responsible  for  the  mistaken  policy  which  resulted 
in  giving  the  negro  a  mere  smattering  of  culture, 
for  the  teachers  and  the  benevolent  societies  very 
largely  determined  the  methods  actually  employed, 
the  Bureau's  activities  being  confined  chiefly  to  the 
financial  side  of  the  difficult  problem,  the  annual 
amounts  distributed  for  educational  purposes 
ranging  from  $27,000  in  1865  to  more  than  $1,- 
000,000  in  1870,  and  the  total  sum  apportioned 
from  June  1,  1865,  to  September  1,  1871,  being 
more  than  $5,000,000. 

While  it  is  true  that  the  schools  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  Bureau  could  not,  by  any  grace  of 
courtesy  be  regarded  as  efficient,  yet  there  is  un- 
questioned evidence  that  its  work  emphasized  the 
necessity  for  elementary  education,  that  it  demon- 
strated the  importance  of  systematic  administra- 
tion, and  that  it  aided  in  the  development  of  pub- 
lic opinion  in  the  direction  of  higher  education, 
especially  for  the  men  and  women  to  be  employed 
as  teachers.  It  is  in  the  higher  institutions,  such 
as  Fisk  University,  Howard  University,  and 
Hampton  Institute,  the  founding  of  which  was 
encouraged  by  the  Bureau,  and  in  similar  institu- 
tions founded  since  1870,  that  the  Southern  negro 
finds  opportunity  to  fit  himself  for  genuine  serv- 
ice. 

Public  education  for  the  negro  at  public  ex- 
pense in  the  several  Southern  states  during  the  era 
of  Reconstruction  requires  no  extended  treatment, 


THE  SOUTHERN  NEGRO  239 

for,  while  the  contsitutions  adopted  by  the  carpet- 
bag governments  included  articles  relating  to  the 
organization  and  conduct  of  systems  of  public  free 
schools,  these  educational  measures  did  not  be- 
come effective.  The  antipathy  of  the  Southern 
people  to  the  rule  of  the  carpetbaggers  inspired 
resistance,  both  passive  and  active,  to  educational, 
as  well  as  to  other  governmental  policies  the  Re- 
constructionists  attempted  to  establish.  The  free 
schools  were  generally  regarded  by  the  white  man 
as  part  and  parcel  of  that  system  which  sought  to 
enslave  him  and  place  him  under  the  domination 
of  his  former  slaves  and  their  abolition  friends. 
The  Reconstruction  era,  which  was  responsible  for 
more  evils  and  which  engendered  fiercer  passions 
and  more  deep-seated  prejudices  than  the  Civil 
War,  was  fortunately  brought  to  a  close  early  in 
the  seventies  of  the  last  century,  and  the  people  of 
our  common  country,  North  and  South,  are  now 
practically  unanimous  in  the  opinion  that  the  ef- 
fort to  restore  the  Union  by  reducing  one-half  of 
its  people  to  a  state  of  vassalage  and  by  seeking 
to  keep  them  in  subjection  by  force,  was  the  great- 
est political  blunder  made  by  the  party  that  had 
been  victorious  in  war,  and  had  destroyed  the  in- 
stitution of  slavery  in  the  United  States. 

When  the  white  people  in  each  of  the  Southern 
states  regained  their  liberty  and  took  charge  of 
their  own  state  governments,  they  at  once  began 
the  stupendous  task  of  providing  for  a  system  of 
public  free  schools,  and,  to  their  credit  be  it  said, 


240  THE  EDUCATION  OF 

opportunities  for  free  education  were  extended  to 
whites  and  blacks  alike,  at  least  so  far  as  constitu- 
tional and  statutory  measures  are  concerned.  It 
is  true  that,  immediately  after  the  close  of  the 
Reconstruction  era,  there  was  some  opposition  to 
popular  education,  especially  for  negroes ;  yet  the 
public  school  idea  steadily  won  its  way,  and  to- 
day no  people  in  the  wide  world  are  more  devoted 
to  the  democratic  ideal  manifested  in  public  edu- 
cation at  public  expense  than  are  to  be  found  in 
America  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line.  No- 
where does  there  exist  a  stronger,  a  more  militant 
conviction  that  the  safety  and  perpetuity  of  de- 
mocracy is  dependent  upon  popular  intelligence 
and  virtue.  The  South  is  to-day  irrevocably  com- 
mitted to  the  doctrine  that,  as  President  Lamar 
once  wrote  in  a  message  to  the  Congress  of  the 
Republic  of  Texas,  "Cultivated  mind  is  the  guard- 
ian genius  of  democracy.  It  is  the  only  dictator 
which  freemen  acknowledge  and  the  only  security 
which  freemen  desire." 

Thirty  or  forty  years  is  a  very  short  time  in 
the  life  of  a  people,  and  it  is  an  exceedingly  brief 
period  in  the  evolution  of  a  great  institution  like 
a  system  of  public  education.  The  South,  how- 
ever, in  this  short  space  of  time  has  accomplished 
educational  results  that  are,  indeed,  not  far  from 
marvelous.  The  testimony  to  support  this  view 
is  strong  and  abundant.  The  late  United  States 
Commissioner  of  Education,  Dr.  William  T.  Har- 
ris, declared  at  a  National  Congress  of  Education, 


THE  SOUTHERN  NEGRO 

held  in  Atlanta,  Georgia,  in  1895,  that  "the  South- 
ern people  in  the  organization  and  management  of 
systems  of  public  schools  manifest  wonderful  and 
remarkable  self-sacrifice." 

Concerning  educational  advantages  supplied  to 
the  negro,  competent  witnesses  living  North,  as 
well  as  South,  men  of  African,  as  well  as  of  Cau- 
casian, descent,  are  agreed  that  in  all  the  history 
of  the  world  there  has  been  no  higher  manifesta- 
tion of  justice  and  liberality  by  a  superior  to  an 
inferior  race  than  the  South  has  shown  in  its  ef- 
forts to  improve  the  intellectual  condition  of  the 
black  population.  Of  the  many  men  who  have 
spoken  on  this  point  is  Dr.  Lyman  Abbott,  editor 
of  The  Outlook.  Below  I  give  his  opinion,  an 
opinion  which  is  typical,  and  which  is  to  be  found 
in  an  article  written  by  him  and  published  in  Vol- 
ume 83,  pp.  634-639,  of  that  journal: 

"While  Northern  benevolence  has  spent  tens  of 
thousands  of  dollars  in  the  South  to  educate  the  ne- 
groes, Southern  patriotism  has  spent  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  dollars  for  the  same  purpose.  This  has 
been  done  voluntarily  and  without  aid  from  the  Fed- 
eral Government." 

Out  of  their  poverty  the  Southern  states  have 
contributed  millions  of  dollars  to  educate  the  ne- 
groes. It  is  impossible  to  determine  the  exact 
amount  of  this  expenditure,  because  separate  ac- 
counts for  negro  education  have  not  been  kept  by 


242  THE  EDUCATION  OF 

the  several  state  governments.  In  only  two  or 
three  of  the  states  are  they  so  kept  at  this  time. 
The  state  of  Texas,  from  1870  to  the  close  of  the 
scholastic  year  ending  August  31,  1911,  expended 
upon  common  school  education  for  negroes  about 
$23,500,000,  and  for  the  support  of  the  Prairie 
View  Normal  School,  an  institution  for  the  train- 
ing of  negro  teachers,  there  has  been  expended 
since  1879  $715,382.  The  estimated  value  of 
school  houses  and  school  property  used  by  the  ne- 
gro schools  of  that  state  is  $1,500,000,  the 
greater  portion  of  which  was  derived  from  taxes 
paid,  and  from  donations  made,  by  white  citizens. 
In  the  state  of  Virginia  there  has  been  spent  since 
1871  between  fifteen  and  eighteen  millions  of  dol- 
lars upon  the  common  school  education  of  the  ne- 
gro, and  that  state  is  now  spending  about  $600,- 
000  a  year  therefor. 

The  figures  given  for  Texas  and  Virginia  may 
be  properly  regarded  as  fairly  representative  of 
all  the  Southern  states.  Not  one  of  these  states 
has  failed  to  provide  for  common  school  education 
for  negroes  on  substantially  equal  terms  with  the 
whites,  and,  in  addition,  normal  schools  have  been 
founded  and  maintained  in  order  that  competent 
teachers  may  be  trained  for  work  in  the  negro 
schools.  In  a  letter  I  received  some  days  ago 
from  Monroe  N.  Work,  who  is  in  charge  of  the 
Department  of  Research  and  Records  in  the  Tus- 
kegee  Normal  and  Industrial  Institute,  he  esti- 
mates that  the  amount  devoted  to  negro  education 


THE  SOUTHERN  NEGRO  243 

in  the  South  for  the  forty  years  ending  with  the 
academic  session  of  1910-11  is,  approximately,  one 
hundred  and  sixty-six  millions  of  dollars.  When 
it  is  remembered  that  the  negroes  own  a  very  small 
per  cent,  of  the  taxable  property  in  the  South, 
the  figures  given  above  are  convincing,  evidence  of 
the  sincere  desire  of  the  Southern  white  man  to 
give  to  the  negro  the  blessings  of  at  least  a  com- 
mon school  education.  It  should,  furthermore,  be 
remembered  that,  while  the  negro  schools,  even 
to-day,  are  not  as  efficient  as  they  should  be,  and 
while  many  of  the  negro  children  are  not  matricu- 
lated in  even  these  inferior  schools,  the  public 
schools  for  the  white  children,  especially  in  rural 
districts,  are  themselves  far  from  ideal.  There  is 
reason  for  believing,  however,  that  in  the  fullness 
of  time,  with  the  continuance  of  that  progress 
which  forms  a  bright  page  in  the  educational  his- 
tory of  our  country,  the  public  schools  for  blacks, 
as  well  as  whites,  will  function  with  such  efficiency 
as  will  guarantee  reasonably  satisfactory  results. 
This  optimistic  view  was  well  expressed,  but  not 
understood,  by  a  little  piccaninny,  who,  some  years 
ago,  when  directed  by  his  teacher  to  form  a  sen- 
tence containing  the  word  delight,  wrote  the  fol- 
lowing inspiring  words  on  his  slate:  "De  light 
am  a  breakin'." 

II.    SOME  PRINCIPLES   OF   THE   PROGRAM 
FOR  NEGRO  EDUCATION 

I  regret  that  this  important  topic  must  neces- 


244  THE  EDUCATION  OF 

sarily  be  dismissed  with  most  superficial  discus- 
sion. It  will,  no  doubt,  in  the  years  to  come, 
receive  at  the  hands  of  educational  leaders  the 
attention  which  its  magnitude  and  difficulty  merit 
and  require.  Only  six  principles,  or  planks,  in 
the  program  will  now  be  submitted,  and  some  of 
them  without  elaboration. 

1.  In  the  negro  are  to  be  -found  the  essential 
elements  of  human  nature,  and,  therefore,  he  can 
be  educated.  He  is  not  an  anthropoid  ape,  which 
has  no  capacity  for  real  thinking  and  which  re- 
sponds only  to  instinct  and  to  mere  training. 
The  one  great  human  attribute  in  which  all  men, 
including  the  negro,  share,  is  reason,  which  gives 
insight  into  the  relations  of  things,  a  result  which 
marks  both  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  wisdom. 

This  plank  of  the  program  requires  that  we 
carefully  examine  our  prejudices  against  the  black 
race,  and  determine  whether  these  prejudices  be 
founded  upon  facts.  There  is  no  doubt  that  ra- 
cial influences  exist.  Thorndike  is  of  the  opinion 
that  "differences  in  remote  ancestry  account  for 
a  very  large  percentage  of  the  differences  among 
men,  if  we  consider  both  their  direct  effect  upon 
original  nature  and  their  indirect  effect  through 
the  differences  in  training  which  commonly  paral- 
lel them."  7 

But,  while  the  racial  element  is  to  be  considered 
a  factor,  environment,  also,  must  undoubtedly  be 
reckoned  with.  The  value  of  this  second  factor  is 

7Thorndike's  "Individuality,"  p.  35. 


THE  SOUTHERN  NEGRO  245 

not  yet  known.  How  far  training  can  modify  and 
overcome  original  mental  characteristics,  nobody 
has  yet  determined.  Boaz,  in  his  work  entitled 
"The  Mind  of  Primitive  Man,"  published  this 
year,  devotes  a  chapter  to  race  problems  in  the 
United  States.  Concerning  the  question,  how  far 
undesirable  traits  now  found  in  the  negro  popula- 
tion are  due  to  racial  influences,  and  how  far  they 
are  due  to  social  environment  for  which  that 
population  is  not  accountable,  he  reaches  this  con- 
clusion : 

"To  this  question  anthropology  can  give  the  de- 
cided answer  that  the  traits  of  African  culture  as  ob- 
served in  the  aboriginal  home  of  the  negro  are  those 
of  a  healthy,  primitive  people,  with  a  considerable 
degree  of  personal  initiative,  with  a  talent  for  organ- 
ization, and  with  imaginative  power,  with  technical 
skill  and  thrift.  Neither  is  a  warlike  spirit  absent  in 
the  race,  as  proved  by  the  mighty  conquerors  who 
overthrew  states  and  founded  new  empires,  and  by 
the  courage  of  the  armies  that  follow  the  bidding  of 
their  leaders.  There  is  nothing  to  prove  that  licen- 
tiousness, shiftless  laziness,  lack  of  initiative,  are 
fundamental  characteristics  of  the  race.  Everything 
points  out  that  these  qualities  are  the  result  of  social 
conditions,  rather  than  of  hereditary  traits."  8 

He  remarks,  with  emphasis,  however,  that  it 
would  be  altogether  a  fallacious  view  to  assume 
that  there  are  no  differences  in  the  makeup  of  the 
s  Boaz's  "The  Mind  of  Primitive  Man,"  p.  271. 


246  THE  EDUCATION  OF 

negro  race  and  other  races,  and  that  their  activi- 
ties should  run  in  the  same  line.  I  am  reminded 
here  that  this  conclusion  of  Professor  Boaz  was 
once  expressed  by  a  good  old  uncle  in  the  black 
belt  to  a  hot-gospel  reformer  who  had  come  South, 
bringing  with  him  idealistic  notions  concerning 
people  of  African  descent.  As  the  missionary  was 
conversing  one  day  with  Uncle  Josh,  a  Caucasian 
gentleman  living  in  the  neighborhood  appeared. 
The  old  negro  at  once  raised  his  hat,  and  with 
cordial  courtesy  remarked,  "Good  mawnin',  Marse 
George."  "Good  morning,  Joshua,"  was  the  re- 
ply, and  the  negro's  white  friend  passed  on. 
When  he  was  out  of  earshot,  the  philanthropist 
from  the  North  said,  "What  do  you  mean  by  call- 
ing that  man  'Marse  George'?  Don't  you  know 
that  Lincoln  freed  you,  and  that  you  have  as  many 
rights  as  anybody,  and  that  you  are  as  good  as 
anybody,  that  you  are  as  good  as  I  am?"  "Oh, 
yas,  suh,"  said  the  wise  black  man,  "I  knows  I'se 
as  good  as  you  is ;  but  you  and  me  and  twenty  mo' 
like  us  ain't  as  good  as  Marse  George." 

Whatever  determination  shall  finally  be  reached 
concerning  the  respective  values  of  racial  inher- 
itance and  of  modification  by  environment,  how- 
ever well-founded  may  be  certain  racial  instincts, 
it  seems  clear  that,  in  the  education  of  the  negro, 
he  should  be  granted  every  reasonable  opportunity 
to  make  all  the  advancement  of  which  he  is  capa- 
ble. To  deny  him  such  opportunity  is  unkind, 
undemocratic,  and  unsafe. 


THE  SOUTHERN  NEGRO  247 

This  view  of  the  question  is  held,  I  believe,  by 
the  great  majority  of  the  better-informed  white 
people  of  the  South,  and  it  has  led  the  directors 
of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  in 
Southern  colleges  to  incorporate  into  their  work 
for  this  year  the  systematic  study  of  a  treatise 
which  is  entitled  "Negro  Life  in  the  South,"  and 
of  which  Dr.  W.  N.  Weatherford,  a  native  Texan, 
is  the  author.  I  am  informed  that  more  than  five 
thousand  college  students  are  now  engaged  in  mas- 
tering that  excellent  book. 

The  rational  attitude  of  mind  toward  the  black 
race,  as  manifested  in  this  new  movement  of  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.,  was  eloquently  described  a  few  years 
ago  in  these  words  by  that  great  Bishop  of  the 
Methodist  Church,  the  late  Charles  B.  Galloway: 

"The  right  education  of  the  negro  is  at  once  a  duty 
and  a  necessity.  All  the  resources  of  the  school 
should  be  exhausted  in  elevating  his  character,  im- 
proving his  condition,  and  increasing  his  capacity  as 
a  citizen.  .  .  .  From  the  declaration  that  educa- 
has  made  the  negro  more  immoral  and  criminal,  I  am 
constrained  to  dissent.  .  .  .  Indisputable  facts 
attest  the  statement  that  education  and  higher  attend- 
ant influences  have  elevated  the  standard  and  tone  of 
morals  among  the  negroes  of  the  South.  ...  I 
believe  it  is  perfectly  safe  to  say  that  not  a  single 
case  of  criminal  assault  has  ever  been  charged  against 
a  student  of  a  mission  school  for  negroes  founded  and 
sustained  by  a  great  Christian  denomination.  .  .  . 
This  is  no  question  for  small  politicians,  but  for  broad 


248  THE  EDUCATION  OF 

patriotic  statesmen.  It  is  not  for  non-resident  theo- 
rists, but  for  practical  publicists;  not  for  academic 
sentimentalists,  but  for  clear-visioned  humanitarians. 
All  our  dealings  with  these  people  should  be  in  the 
spirit  of  the  Man  of  Galilee."  9 

2.  Education  being  a  process  of  conscious  evo- 
lution, the  negro  himself  must,  by  his  own  self- 
active  efforts,  reach  higher  levels  of  intelligence 
and  character.  The  observance  of  this  principle 
will  lead  him  to  exercise  great  patience,  and  the 
white  man  even  greater.  As  long  as  there  is  "first 
the  blade,  and  then  the  ear,  and  then  the  full 
corn  in  the  ear"  in  the  physical  world,  we  must 
not  expect  development  with  lightning-like  ra- 
pidity in  any  social  institution. 

If  this  principle  be  correct,  the  negro  children 
should  be  taught  by  negro  teachers.  In  Charles- 
ton, South  Carolina,  however,  a  contrary  policy 
has  long  obtained.  So  unique  is  the  educational 
experiment  made  in  that  city  that  I  give  below 
a  letter  received  last  month  from  Mr.  W.  K.  Tate, 
the  State  Supervisor  of  Elementary  Rural 
Schools  in  South  Carolina: 

"Your  information  that  young  women  belonging  to 
the  best  Southern  families  are  engaged  in  teaching  in 
the  public  schools  for  negroes  in  Charleston  is  correct. 
This  policy  has  been  pursued  ever  since  the  establish- 
ment of  the  public  school  system  in  Charleston.  The 
public  school  system  of  Charleston  originated  before 
the  war,  and  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war  between  the 

»  "An  Era  of  Progress  and  Promise,"  p.  557. 


THE  SOUTHERN  NEGRO  249 

states  there  were  four  large  public  schools  in  operation 
in  Charleston.  The  people  have  never  regarded  the 
public  school  system  as  a  product  of  reconstruction, 
but  as  their  own  institution. 

"The  negroes  have  always  been  in  the  majority  in 
the  city  of  Charleston,  The  explanation  of  the  fact 
that  the  white  teachers  are  employed  in  the  negro 
schools  may  be  stated  in  substance  as  follows:  The 
white  people  realize  that  the  teaching  which  the  ne- 
groes receive  under  white  instruction  is  much  better 
than  that  which  they  would  receive  with  negro  teach- 
ers. They  wish  to  get  along  pleasantly  with  the  ne- 
groes, and  to  do  so  they  believe  that  their  instruction 
should  be  in  the  hands  of  the  white  people.  There 
has  never  been  the  slightest  friction  between  the  races 
in  Charleston,  and  the  people  attribute  this  to  the 
fact  that  the  negroes  have  been  brought  up  under 
white  discipline  and  white  instruction. 

"The  young  women  who  teach  in  the  negro  schools 
do  not,  in  the  slightest  degree,  lose  their  social  pres- 
tige. They  are  transferred  from  the  negro  schools 
to  the  white  schools  with  the  greatest  freedom,  and 
many  of  the  best  principals  now  employed  in  the  city 
began  their  work  as  principals  in  negro  schools.  The 
majority  of  negroes  themselves  prefer  the  white  teach- 
ers. I  have  had  from  no  less  authority  than  Dr. 
George  S.  Dickerman,  who  has  observed  widely,  that 
the  discipline  and  instruction  in  the  negro  schools  in 
Charleston  are  the  best  he  has  seen  in  the  United 
States. 

"I  was  connected  with  the  Charleston  schools  for 
twelve  years,  serving  for  some  years  as  Assistant 
Superintendent  of  Schools.  Some  of  the  most  efficient 
teachers  in  the  city  are  teaching  in  negro  schools. 
There  are  evident  objections  to  the  system;  but  it  is 


250  THE  EDUCATION  OF 

a  sufficient  answer  to  say  in  Charleston  that  it  has 
worked  well,  and  has  certainly  produced  an  under- 
standing between  the  races  I  have  found  nowhere  else. 
"I  know  of  no  other  Southern  city  in  which  this  con- 
dition prevails/' 

This  principle  provides,  furthermore,  for  the 
selection  of  such  culture-materials  and  such  ad- 
ministrative machinery  and  such  methods  of  in- 
struction as  are  dictated  by  concrete,  rather  than 
abstract,  idealism.  The  negro  race,  being,  rela- 
tively speaking,  in  the  infant  stage  of  civilized 
life,  should  not  be  expected  to  undergo  all  the 
training  that  belongs  to  higher  races.  This 
principle  undoubtedly  justifies  great  emphasis 
upon  vocational  studies  in  the  school,  for  the  basis 
of  human  life  and  human  civilization  is  physical. 
It  does  not  imply,  however,  that  the  negro  should 
be  compelled  to  level  down  in  his  education  to 
preparation  for  becoming  a  mere  work-animal, 
for  such  a  policy  would  disregard  the  higher  hu- 
man elements  with  which  even  the  lowest  of  races 
is  endowed. 

The  next  three  principles  I  shall  not  discuss, 
but  shall  merely  formulate  as  follows: 

3.  The  professional  education  of  teachers  is 
an  indispensable  agency  for  the  elevation  of  the 
negroes  in  the  South. 10 

10  How  meager  are  the  qualifications  of  the  negro  teacher, 
is  shown  in  the  following  tables,  which  refer  to  Texas  and 
which  reveal  a  situation  no  more  unfortunate  than  exists 
in  other  states  in  the  South: 


THE  SOUTHERN  NEGRO  251 

4.  Efficient   supervision  of   the  negro   schools 
can  be  accomplished  only  by  professional  experts 
having  adequate  opportunities  for  the  discharge 
of  their  functions.11 

5.  The  compulsory  education  of  the  negro  is  de- 
manded   upon    both    educational    and    political 
grounds. 


Certificated   Negro  Teachers  in  the   Common  School  Dis- 
tricts, and  in  Independent  Districts  with  Fewer  than 
150  Scholastics,  in  Texas  for  the  Year  1909-10. 

Holders  of  Cownty  Certificates. 

Third  grade    171 

Second    grade    829 

First  grade  39 

Permanent 6 

Total    1045 

Holders  of  State  Certificates. 

Second    grade    823 

First  grade   201 

Permanent    186 

Total    1210 

Graduates. 

Of  high  schools  92 

Of  normal  schools 159 

Of  Colleges  and  universities    45 


Total 


11  One  has  only  to  read  the  recent  report  of  Jackson 
Davis,  State  Supervisor  of  Rural  Elementary  Schools  in 
Virginia,  in  order  to  be  convinced  of  the  importance  of 
the  supervision  of  negro  schools. 


THE  SOUTHERN  NEGRO 

6.  The  sixth  principle  may  be  stated  thus: 
The  education  of  the  Southern  negro  should  be 
marked  by  the  continuous  manifestation  of  the 
spirit  of  cooperation  on  the  part  of  all  who  are 
concerned  in  the  welfare  of  the  nation.  Such  a 
spirit  will  lead  to  the  study  of  actual  conditions, 
facts  will  be  kept  in  authentic  records,  and  in 
time  we  shall  have  at  our  command  a  great  wealth 
of  material  which  will  enable  us  to  discover  the 
wisest  plans  for  promoting  the  educational  prog- 
ress of  the  negro,  as  well  as  the  means  best 
adapted  to  that  great  work.  Inspired  and  di- 
rected by  such  a  spirit  we  may  hope  to  accomplish 
what  seems  to  be  the  will  of  God  in  extending  to 
the  negro  race  in  America  the  blessings  of  democ- 
racy, along  with  the  obligations  which  democracy 
imposes. 


APPENDIX 


APPENDIX 

Education  in  German  Universities  for  Winter  Semester 
1905-1906,  from  Deutscher  Unlversitats  Kalendar  (Vol. 
I),  Leipzig,  1905. 


University 


Title  of 
Instructor 


Name  of  course  with  number 
of  hours  per  week 


Berlin 


Bonn 


Breslau 


Freiburg 


Giessen 


Gottingen 


Prof. 
Hon.  Prof. 


Priv.  Doc. 


Priv.  Doc. 

Prof. 

Hon.  Prof. 
Priv.  Doc. 


Prof. 
Priv.  Doc. 


Appointed 
Decent 

Prof. 

Prof. 
Lecturer 

Priv.  Doc. 


Pedagogy   (4). 

(1)  School  supervision   (2). 

(2)  Pedagogical        Colloquium 
(1). 

Outline  of  a  system  of  peda- 
gogy and  presentation  of 
most  important  Pedagogi- 
cal systems  since  16th  cent. 
(2). 

Education  and  instruction  in 
the  19th  cent.  (2). 

History  of  pedagogy  (2). 

Gymnasial  pedagogy  (2). 

Practical  directions  for  carry- 
ing out  simple  experiments 
(3). 

Theory  of  pedagogy   (1). 

Pedagogy  and  child  psychology 
with  introduction  to  his- 
tory of  pedagogy  (4). 

Evolution  of  higher  schools  in 
Germany  in  19th  century; 
methods  of  teaching  Ger- 
man; practice  teaching  (?). 

Elements  of  didactics  and 
methodology  of  instruction 

Mental  life  of  the  child  (1). 
The   teaching   of   modern    lan- 
guages in  Gr.  Britain  (1). 

(1)  Physics      in      the      higher 
schools    (2). 

(2)  Exercises  in  the  construc- 
tion   and    use    of   physical 
apparatus   (3). 

255 


256 


APPENDIX 


University 


Title  of 
Instructor 


Name  of  course  with  number 
of  hours  per  week 


Greifswald 


Halle 


Heidelberg 


Leipzig 


Asst.  Prof. 


Hon.  Prof. 


Priv.  Doc. 


Hon.  Prof. 


Appointed 
Docent 
Prof. 


Prof. 


Asst.  Prof. 

Asst.  Prof. 
Priv.  Doc. 


Hebrew  grammar,  comparative 

study   for    future    teachers 

of  Hebrew  (3). 
(1)  Introd.      to      pedagogical 

classics   of   18th   and   19th 

centuries   (1). 
(3)  History  of  pedagogy  since 

close  of  middle  ages  (2). 

(1)  General     pedagogy     (with 
reference    to    experimental 
didactics)    (3). 

(2)  Experimental      psychology 
for  teachers  (?) 

(1)  History    of   education,    of 
instruction,    and    of    peda- 
gogical theories   (2). 

(2)  Readings     in    pedagogical 
classics    (1). 

Practical  pedagogical  exercises 

(*). 

(1)  History  of  pedagogy   (3). 

(2)  Philosophical  -  Pedagogical 
seminary    (1£). 

(1)  Pedagogy    and   its   history 
(5). 

(2)  Pedagogical  seminary,   (a) 
practical      exercises,       (b) 
visits   to   educational  insti- 
tutions  (1). 

(1)  Pedagogy  of  higher  schools 
(2). 

(2)  Practical  pedagogical  sem- 
inary   (2). 

Lectures  and  exercises  in  the 
pedagogy  of  chemistry 
(5-6). 

Sciences  subsidiary  to  psychol- 
ogy (Physiology  of  sense 
organs  and  of  the  brain, 
mental  diseases,  psychology 
of  development  (2). 


APPENDIX 


257 


University 


Title  of 
Instructor 


Name  of  course  with  number 
of  hours  per  week 


Leipzig 
Marburg 

Munster 

Strasburg 

Jena 


Appointed 
Docent  (?) 


Prof. 

Priv.  Doc. 
Prof. 
Lecturer 
Hon.  Prof. 

Priv.  Doc. 


Pedagogical  seminary  for 
teachers  of  agriculture  (in 
connection  with  Agricul- 
tural Institute)  (?). 

(1)  History  of  pedagogy   (3). 

(2)  Pedagogical       studies       in 
Herbart  and  his  school  (2). 

Child  psychology  and  experi- 
mental pedagogy  (1). 

History  of  modern  pedagogy 
(3). 

Education  in  England  (in  Eng- 
lish language)  (1). 

(1)  Herbart's    life    and   teach- 
ing   (1). 

(2)  Special  didactics    (3). 

(3)  Pedagogical  seminary  (?). 
Herbart's      general     pedagogy 

(2). 

Practice  school  (elementary 
grades)  work  with  2  fel- 
lows as  assistants.  (?). 


SUMMARY 

Regular  full  professors  giving  whole  time  0 

Honorary   professors    giving   whole    time    2 

Total  number  of  professors  and  ass't  profs,  giving  part 

time    15 

Number  of  privat  docenten    (part  time)    11 

Number  of  lecturers  and  others  6 

Total  number  engaged  in  giving  any  work  in  education 
in  21  German  Universities   34 

Note. — No  work  in  pedagogy  was  announced  for  the  Winter 
Semester  1905-06  in  Erlangen,  Kiel,  Konigsberg, 
Munich,  Rostock,  Tubingen,  and  Wiirzburg, 


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«*  1933 


SEP    12  1944 


DEC  8   1940 


LD  21-50m-l,'33 


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